The Guardian of Autumn
by SeraphicTune
Summary: SUMMARY CHANGE: Sawada Aki, the cousin of Vongola Tenth has only ever knowingly loved one person all her life, that is, Tsuna. Her move to Namimori entwines her life with various new strings of fate. Is the turtle finally emerging from its shell? YamaXOC
1. Autumn's Arrival

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or anything else. This is merely a fanwork. I own only my OC ^___^

**EDIT: So I've decided on this ver. Please enjoy~ This is my first fanfic, so please excuse any mistakes I make! I'd love to hear advice and feedback, so do leave a review. Thanks! ^___^**

* * *

It was before school started and Tsuna was unpacking his bag at his desk when Gokudera bounded up to him, "Good morning Tenth!"

"Ah, good morning Gokudera-kun, I didn't see you this morning. Did something happen?" Tsuna slid his notebook onto the desk and pulled out a pencil.

"Right! Aneki stopped by this morning to give me some more money to pay the bills, since she spends all the time at your house with Reborn-san. I passed out and couldn't make it in time to meet up with you. I'm very sorry, Tenth!" Gokudera bowed fervently, his octopus legged hair dangling in his face, too abashed to face Tsuna.

Vongola Decimo put his hands up reassuringly, "Really, it's alright Gokudera-kun. I was going to ask you this morning, but now should be fine. Next week is the retake for the math test, can you help me study for it?"

"Anything at all," exclaimed Gokudera happily. "You'll have the best score in the class!"

"I think we should just aim for passing this time around, but thanks Gokudera-kun." Worriedly Tsuna thought to himself, _Especially when I don't even know what's going on in class right now, there's no way I'd get even close to a score like Gokudera-kun!_

Yamamoto poked his head into the conversation, "Sign me up, Gokudera. I'm taking the retake next week too. You might as well help me out if you're helping Tsuna too."

Gokudera retorted, "You can go fail by yourself, you baseball freak."

"That's a good idea, Yamamoto!" Tsuna replied to Yamamoto's suggestion with relief, _It helps if someone else is there; I don't think I can handle all of Gokudera-kun's theories_ _by myself_.

"Of course, Tenth! As expected of the Tenth! If you ever need help, you can come to me! Anything and anytime," he repeated, seemingly emitting a sparkly aura of adoration.

Sensei walked into the room, "Settle everyone. We have a transfer student, please be cordial." Gesturing behind the door, he signaled the new student into the room. There was silence, no one came in. Exasperatedly, he walked back to the entrance of the classroom and said quite loudly, "Please come in, we don't have all day."

A contrast to Sensei's loudness, the girl was quiet, speaking at a low volume, barely heard above the idle, wondering chatter of her new classmates. She coughed, silencing the murmurs.

The transfer student, bowed, her shoulder length hair hiding her face, similar to the fashion of Gokudera, her nerves on edge and rattling.

"My name is Sawada Aki, I've transferred from Tokyo. Please take care of me." How many countless times has she done this? All the memories blend, each school the same way, the same types of faces, the same kinds of teachers. But this time was different. Nobody was looming terribly over her, not even the portly Sensei, nobody laughed and pointed. There was no incredulous looks, glares or squeals. Just a blank slate, _tabula rasa_. And there was one more thing, one special, particular thing, or rather, _person_. Sawada Tsunayoshi was here.

She finally lifted her face to analyze the class, noting the seat arrangements, the classrooms were all designed to fit a standard, everything the same, the windows and exits faithfully noted in case. Reflectively, the class made a note of her blue eyes, making assumptions already: her quiet stance, her height, her voice, and everything else. Tsuna-nii's face stood out to her, his face puzzled and easy to read. His facial expressions hadn't changed at all, not in three years, and in some way, it pleased her, knowing he hadn't changed. At least, as far as she could tell, the only changes were that he seemed to finally be taller than her.

Aki decided then to spare her cousin of an embarrassing reunion scene but replace it with a practical joke. She hadn't laughed honestly for a long time, and she itched to just start laughing now, but to make it a success, she had to keep a straight face. Inside, she was giggling, a sadistic joy in toying with her cousin's mind, almost guaranteed to work.

"Sensei, where should I sit?" Aki looked expectantly, willing for the empty seat next to Tsuna.

"Next to Sawada," pointing at the place she had wanted. Collectively, the class groaned inwardly, the teacher was putting the new girl next to No-Good Tsuna? She wasn't going to get a good impression of Namimori Middle if Sawada was her guide.

Oblivious to these thoughts, Aki sat down in her appointed seat, turning toward Tsuna quietly, "Hi, my name is Sawada Aki. I hope we can get along."

At this point, Tsuna was very confused. The transfer student had Aki's name and looked like his cousin, but she was acting differently from the Aki that he knew, a boisterous, abrupt, affectionate girl. The Aki he knew would have jumped all over him, in some ways, he concluded, like Gokudera-kun. But this new girl was speaking keigo towards him, the polite speech that she usually reserved for strangers and superiors. Perhaps, he had confused his cousin with this new transfer student, but no matter how he looked at her, she was definitely his cousin. Her hair was styled differently from the way he had last seen her, childish pigtails; now it was long with braids intertwined, like a May Day flower wreath.

Just to be sure, he leaned towards her. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. If you don't mind my asking, but does Aki stand for anything longer? Akiko, perhaps?"

She shook her head, "It's just Aki. I was born in the autumn, so my papa chose this name for me. Is there anything that you'd like me to call you, Sawada-san?"

"You can call me Tsuna. But the funny thing is, you really look like my cousin. Her name is Aki too, and you two even have the same blue eyes."

"Really?" feigning surprise, her lips twitched slightly, resisting the urge to smile. "I've only ever met one other Aki, much less another Aki who has blue eyes. What's her story?"

"My aunt is Italian and my uncle is Japanese, so she's a mix, but we grew up together."

Aki tilted her head shyly, "Somehow, I get the feeling I can't possibly live up to this Aki that you know. But let's be friends, Tsuna-kun."

Tsuna flushed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad; I actually haven't seen my cousin in a few years, but I hope we can be good friends."

"What a coincidence, I haven't seen my cousin in a few years either," she smiled mischievously.

"Eh? That really is a coincidence," said Tsuna, with a look of slight astonishment.

"His name happens to be Tsunayoshi-kun as well. You know, he used to be afraid of a Chihuahua when he was younger, even though it was an adorably, harmless puppy," Aki paused. "Now that I think about it, he's probably still afraid of Chihuahuas." This thought struck her as hilarious and she laughed, the sound spilling over, until Tsuna was infected with laughter as well.

"Aki! I can't believe you tricked me like that," blushed Tsuna, when the realization dawned on him.

"_I_ can't believe you were tricked like that, Tsuna-nii! Then again, I kinda expected it. You haven't changed at all in three years."

Tsuna protested, "I've grown taller. Um, and I have more friends. I can ride a biycycle now, although I'm still known as No-Good Tsuna..."

Aki beamed, still giddy from pulling her prank, "Still No-Good Tsuna? Nothing's really changed after all. But everything else sounds really great, Tsuna-nii. I've missed you a lot these years. It's good to see you're doing well."

Before Tsuna could reply with an equally sappy reply, Sensei shouted in their direction, "Sawadas! Stop talking, class is in session. You can introduce yourselves later, that's what a lunch break is for."

"Hai, Sensei," the Sawadas replied and turned back to their work. Aki winked at Tsuna, a smile threatening to trickle out again. In the back, Gokudera couldn't help but look over jealously at this new girl who made the Tenth laugh and blush in the span of a few minutes.


	2. Gokudera's Temper is Tested

**A/N: Sorry if I took awhile updating. I've decided to stick with the 2nd ver ^_^ It's still not very interesting yet, sorry ^^;; This is my first time writing a fanfic and I'm still trying out everything, so please bear with me! Thanks~ If you can leave any advice and feedback, it'd be really appreciated. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Amano Akira does. This is a fanwork and I own only my OC. **

* * *

The bell rang for lunch and before she knew it, Aki's desk was surrounded by curious eyes.

"Sawada-san, you have such pretty eyes, are you a mix?"

"Why'd you transfer from Tokyo?"

"Do you need help finding your way around school?"

The barrage of questions and welcomes made her head spin and she felt claustrophobic and trapped, pinned down by the familiar stares.

Aki looked down at her desk, as if to ward off the looks, "Is it alright if you ask me later? If you want to know anything about me, ask him." She pointed to Tsuna, behind the crush of students.

"Eh? Wait, Aki, don't push this kind of responsibility onto me," shouted Tsuna, above the din of questions.

"I'm going to the bathroom, you can answer the questions," said Aki, getting up. She pleaded, "You know me best, after all." With that, she made a dash for the door, and fled.

"Honestly, she always does this," sighed Tsuna, turning to face his classmates.

"Hey, No-Good Tsuna, how do you know that girl?" a guy shouted from across the room.

"Was she your ex-girlfriend or something?" a girl giggled.

"Are you actually long lost siblings?"

"Everyone, I think you have the wrong idea," answered Tsuna. "Aki is my cousin and childhood friend; she's kind of shy, so please treat her nicely."

"Is that so?" Kurokawa Hana came up to Tsuna with Kyoko next to her. "I don't see a resemblance."

"Oh stop teasing Tsuna-kun, Hana-chan. There is some similarity between them, they're both shy," commented Kyoko. "We should introduce ourselves when she gets back."

Tsuna blushed, "K-Kyoko-chan! That'd be a big help, thanks." Turning to Hana, he said, "I hope you can be friends with Aki as well, Kurokawa."

Hana shrugged, "Of course I will, she seems more normal than you anyway." At this, Tsuna made a face but thanked her again.

Once they had heard about Tsuna's rather ordinary, and non scandalous relationship to Aki, the middle schoolers had lost interest and continued with their normal lunch break, although some did peek at Tsuna once in awhile, waiting for Aki to return.

"Tenth! How come I didn't know about your cousin? Your right hand man should know everything about you!" exclaimed Gokudera, practically flying over to Tsuna. "No," he corrected himself passionately, "The right hand should make it his _job_ to know everything about his boss!"

"Gokudera-kun," started Tsuna. "You don't have to know everything about me, I don't know everything about you either; can't we just be normal friends?"

"But you're the next Boss," protested Gokudera.

"Like I've said, I'm not going to be the next Vongola boss or anything. I don't want anything to do with the Mafia."

At that moment, Yamamoto returned from buying a carton of milk, and strolled over to the group of friends. "Yo, Tsuna! Talking about that Mafia game again?"

"Yamamoto," groaned Tsuna, making a face. _It's not a game!_

"Ah, Tsuna, your cousin came back," Yamamoto pointed to the entrance of the classroom. Aki walked back in, a look of relief washed over her face when she saw that no one but Tsuna's group was waiting for her.

"Tsuna-nii, thanks for taking care of everything," she said happily, giving him a quick, appreciative hug.

"VOIIIIII," shouted Gokudera, pulling Aki away from Tsuna. "Get your hands off the Tenth!"

"VOIIIIIIIII back to you too," Aki shouted, smiling, removing her arm from Gokudera's death grip of the reflexive MUST PROTECT TENTH motion.

"Don't get near me, you stupid woman. And stop copying me. And smiling. Stop smiling like an idiot, you look like that stupid cow now."

Yamamoto laughed, "Ahahaha, Tsuna, look. Your cousin and Gokudera are doing Squalo impressions."

Tsuna panicked again, seeing Aki effortlessly anger Gokudera; then again, anyone but Tsuna usually annoyed Gokudera, no one else was "worthy" in his eyes. _This isn't good. In fact, this is really bad!_ _If I don't stop them soon, Gokudera-kun will blow up the whole school!_

Gokudera whipped out his explosives and started to light them when Tsuna jumped in front of him, blocking him. "Gokudera-kun, please stop, you're going to destroy the school. Hibari-san will be really mad and he'll bite us all to death," begged Tsuna.

"Tenth," Gokudera looked at his explosives hesitantly. At that moment, Hibari walked past the classroom, but reversed and hung at the doorway.

"What are you crowding around for, herbivores?" He noticed the bombs in Gokudera's hands and glared, "If you dare destroy the peace, I'll bite you to death."

"H-Hibari-san," Tsuna stammered. "It's lunchtime, we aren't crowding."

"Fine, I'm only putting it away because the Tenth asked me to. Don't think it has anything to do with you," Gokudera glared back, hiding the explosives in the folds of his school uniform.

"And you," Hibari turned his stony gaze to Aki. "Stop disrupting the peace or I'll bite you to death." Aki noticed the Disciplinary Committee band on his arm and realized who had just threatened Gokudera.

"You must be Hibari Kyoya," she said. "Mama said to be careful of the Namimori Middle Disciplinary Committee, I don't think you're a bad person," she smiled, holding her hand out. "This is the first time I've met someone who loves their school so much. It's nice meeting you."

"Hmpf," Hibari ignored her and exited the classroom without so much as a glance backward, much to Tsuna's relief.

"What an interesting person." There was a faraway look in Aki's eyes as she watched Hibari's departing back. "He gave off a scary aura, but I wasn't scared at all. Gokudera-kun doesn't scare me either."

"Oi! How do you know my name, you crazy stalker girl?" growled Gokudera.

"Didn't Tsuna-nii just say Gokudera-kun? Unless that's just an affectionate pet name?" she raised an amused eyebrow at this idea.

"Why you —," Gokudera was readying himself to attack Aki when Yamamoto stood in front of her, looming over her.

"Mah, mah, calm down Gokudera, there's no use getting all angry like that." To Aki, he introduced himself with a cheery smile. "Hi there! I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, nice to meet you. I bet you're really interesting; do you play mafia games like Tsuna?"

She looked up at him and thought to herself, _He's so tall. He's just like them, so big. Always, always, towering over me_. An image of long shadows flashed through her mind.

"Are you alright?" Yamamoto asked when she didn't say anything, her face blank and devoid of emotion.

"Yes, thank you for asking. It's nice to meet you," she replied nervously, forgetting the question he had asked. The sight of this boy made her cower, he reminded her of that day, when the rain fell like bombs. She sidestepped around Yamamoto and clung to Tsuna's arm, feeling a temporary relief.

Yamamoto laughed it off, "I guess you really are shy. Sorry about that."

"Hey! Do you want me to repeat it? _GET YOUR HANDS OFF THE TENTH_!" exploded Gokudera, grabbing Aki's shoulders. She started giggling and writhed under his hands, trying to get away.

"S-stop touching me," she wheezed. "I'm t-ticklish." She bursted out laughing and tried escaping Gokudera's rough fingers. Gokudera just held onto her tighter and started shaking her back and forth.

"STOP LAUGHING," he roared. But Aki showed no signs of letting up, her head helplessly whipping back and forth from Gokudera's brutish handling. "I said STOP LAUGHING!"

"G-Gokudera-kun! Please stop shaking Aki!" Tsuna tried grabbing Aki but it was difficult to approach the two without being whacked by some odd body part. While Tsuna had trouble catching Aki, Yamamoto had an easy time, lifting her from Gokudera's hold and setting her down on Tsuna's desk. Aki doubled over, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Thanks," she said, still struggling to catch her breath. She looked up and saw that it was Yamamoto who had saved her; she looked back down, attempting to conceal a hint of panic in her eyes.

"Thank you," she repeated. "Yamamoto-kun."

The recipient of this thank you grinned, happy to have been acknowledged, "No problem. It was nothing."

Meanwhile, Tsuna had scolded Gokudera for trying to beat up his cousin. Of course, Gokudera was apologizing away, bowing fervently.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said gently.

Gokudera held his spot next to Tsuna, like a stubborn child. After some thinking on his part, he acquiesced. He stood in front of Aki and Yamamoto, a look of disgust on his face.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"What's that? I didn't hear you," Aki teased, momentarily forgetting about Yamamoto. For some reason, Gokudera amused her greatly and it brought her even greater joy to antagonize him, even more than when she teased her cousin.

Gokudera twitched at her mockery, "I said, I'm _sorry_." He gritted his teeth at the last syllable.

She laughed. "It's alright, Gokudera-kun. I was just playing with you. Surprisingly, we have a lot of similarities."

Another twitch from Gokudera. "We're not alike at all. Shut up you stupid girl."

"Of course we are. We're both mixes, aren't we? And we both _love_ Tsuna-nii a lot! On top of that, we have bad tempers," she grinned cheekily. "Are those enough similarities?"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me," Gokudera blushed at her statement, _And we both __**love**__ Tsuna-nii a lot!_

"We were both loners too, without Tsuna-nii," she added softly. Before Gokudera could respond to that statement, two boys walked over, smiling enthusiastically.

"Aki-chan, do you want us to show you the clubs that are available? We can show you around Namimori if you want." They were nearly drooling with anticipation. How unfortunate for them.

Aki narrowed her eyes now, her gentle demeanor gone, replaced with cold air. She hopped off of Tsuna's desk and walked up to the shorter guy.

"What did you call me?" Her voice was hard, the syllables short and clipped.

"Aki-chan?" The one being addressed asked hesitantly. "Is there something wrong?"

She shoved her finger against his chest, stepping closer. Her anger and fear had been stewing from remembering that day, triggered from seeing Yamamoto, and this was the boiling point.

'Don't talk so familiarly with me. You don't know anything about me, so don't call my name like we're friends."

Lunch had come to a standstill, with everyone watching Aki and the poor guy who had tried to be friendly with her. She glared at him, repeating her words again, "Don't call me Aki, do you understand?"

The guy quivered and could only nod a frightened yes.

"That goes for you all," she announced to the class, her eyes cut like glass, her voice frosty. "Don't call me Aki."

_Ah, she snapped_, thought Tsuna. _I thought she was going to make friends this time, I hope Kyoko-chan and everyone will still want to be friends with her after this_.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if the chapters are a bit short as well, I wanted to update as soon as possible since I won't be able to during the week. Thanks again for reading~**

**Changed the summary, here's the original (since I can edit the first chapter) summary XD:**

A new character arrives in town, a relation of Sawada Tsunayoshi, Vongola X. Her name is Sawada Aki. She joins the Vongola family, what will her new life in Namimori be like? Romance kindles between the new "Guardian" and another Guardian. YamaXOC


	3. The Infirmary

**A/N: Hi everyone~ Thanks for all the reviews and support. They make me so motivated *w* Thank you~ So here's the third chapter...I was going to make it longer but I have HW to do . Sorry ^^;;; I was going to write it a different way, but it turned out like this (a bit cliché, sorry!). Do enjoy~ Reviews are very welcomed! (I like getting them~) Constructive criticism is welcome too, thanks for reading everyone!**

* * *

Aki flexed her hands, and then balled them into fists. She turned slowly, letting her words soak in, her eyes roaming the silent faces. Oblivious to the tension in the classroom, Yamamoto came up behind her, tapping her shoulder, lighthearted as usual.

"Mah, mah, you don't have to be so harsh, Aki-chan," he grinned at the back of her head.

Instinctively, she whirled around, to find herself looking at his vest. She didn't dare lift her face to look at him, so she glared stubbornly at his chest, as if she could burn a hole through his uniform.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you just hear me say not to call me that?"

"Call you what?" Yamamoto echoed cluelessly.

She gritted her teeth, feeling her molars crushing against each other. "You're definitely doing this on purpose to annoy me. I said not to call my name like that."

"Like what? Aki-chan? "

"Exactly like that. Don't '_Aki-chan_' me; who gave you permission to speak so familiarly with me?"

"Hm," Yamamoto considered her question, but he was distracted by something else. "Aki, why aren't you looking at me? It feels kind of strange talking to the top of your head." Yamamoto laughed casually, patting her head lightly.

Aki flinched from his touch. "Don't touch me. Don't say my name. Don't talk to me. Don't —," she shivered, feeling the invisible rain wash over her again. She squeezed her eyes shut, her breathing shallow, cold sweat starting to form at the base of her neck.

Yamamoto looked concerned, the girl had suddenly stopped speaking and she appeared to be shaking. "Are you alright, Aki? Do you need someone to bring you to the nurse?"

The girl didn't reply, her ears were ringing, and his voice clambered around in her head. _Are you alright, Aki? Aki. Aki. Aki. Aki. Aki — _the sound of his voice calling her name repeated over and over. She clamped her hands over her ears and sank to the floor on her knees, trying to pry the words loose.

"Stop it," she whispered weakly. "Stop calling my name." Yamamoto bent over, worried.

"You don't look so good, Aki. Maybe it'd be better to take you to the nurse," he peered anxiously at her.

To Aki, the statement floated to her like a whisper. She looked at his shoes and the incoming rush of the floor. "Your shoes are surprisingly clean."

Tsuna started to rush over just as Aki face-planted onto Yamamoto's shoes. Surprisingly quick, Yamamoto propped her up but the weight of her head kept causing it to droop and her limbs were sprawled out in all directions. It was a bit of a hassle to leave her like that, so Yamamoto slid his arms under her arms and lifted her, careful not to pull on her long hair. He stood up and held her as if she weighed nothing, just as Tsuna made his way over.

"Yamamoto," Tsuna said with relief. "Thanks. Is Aki alright?"

"She might have fainted," he replied, examining her closed eyelids. "I told her going to the nurse was a good idea. Aki-chan is unexpectedly stubborn; I suppose you could say she is kinda like Gokudera."

"Oi, baseball freak! Don't compare me to that girl; at least I don't faint so easily like her, there's no way that I'd be that weak!"

"But Gokudera, you always fall down whenever we see your sister," the resident baseball freak pointed out, shifting Aki closer to him, so that he had an easier handle on her.

Gokudera glared, "Shut up! That's a chronic case, if Aneki wears something over her face, I'm fine. Nothing like _her_, she just fainted out of nowhere." Turning to Tsuna he smiled maliciously, "Tenth! We can still get rid of her body if we leave now. If she can't even take care of herself, there's no way she can do anything for you, Tenth."

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna reprimanded sharply. "She's not dead; Aki just fainted, she'll be fine when we take her to the infirmary."

"Tsuna-kun, will Aki-chan be alright?" asked Kyoko. "If she needs anything, we'll be here."

"Even though she was rude," snorted Hana.

"Hana-chan," scolded Kyoko, "I think Aki-chan is really shy, so it might take her some time to make friends. That's why we have to be there for her."

"Kyoko," Hana said, "We didn't even get a chance to _introduce_ ourselves yet and she'd probably bite our heads off for calling her Aki."

"That might be true," Kyoko said, with a troubled expression, "But we'll never know unless we try!"

"I appreciate it, Kyoko-chan, I think Aki-chan will like you. I'll go with Yamamoto to the infirmary now," he waved shyly at her as he followed Yamamoto out the door.

Just as they exited the classroom, two girls approached them excitedly. "Kya, Yamamoto-kun, please accept my bento," the girl with braids bowed, sticking a lunch box out at the baseball star.

_They're completely ignoring the situation!_ Tsuna thought. He was about to make a comment asking them to move when Yamamoto responded.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "I'm busy right now, but I appreciate the thought," he nodded his head towards the unconscious Aki in his arms, continuing past the girls, with Tsuna following behind him.

"Eh, who was that girl in Yamamoto-kun's arms? So lucky! I want to be held by Yamamoto-kun too," the confessor's friend squealed.

"She seemed pale. I bet Yamamoto-kun was just being kind by taking her to the infirmary," glowered the girl with the braids, holding the rejected bento.

* * *

Tsuna walked in front of Yamamoto and slid the door to the nurse's office open, allowing for Yamamoto to walk in with Aki still cradled in his arms.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" asked Tsuna.

"If it isn't Vongola X, I've already told you that I don't treat men." Dr. Shamal appeared from around a curtain.

"Dr. Shamal! Can you treat my cousin? It looks like she fainted." This perked Shamal up, a female patient for once!

"Set her there," Dr. Shamal pointed at one of the infirmary beds. "You finally brought me a cute girl, huh?"

"Dr. Shamal! Don't do anything weird to Aki," exclaimed Tsuna, waving his arms protectively in front of Aki.

Yamamoto sat on the cot adjacent to Aki's and laughed, "Haha, you're still an interesting person, I see."

Shamal leaned in as if to examine her, inhaling her scent, "Ahhh, wonderful. She has the scent of a beautiful apple that I'd love to bite into."

"Dr. Shamal!" yelped Tsuna, trying to pull the doctor away from his cousin.

"Aki-chan does smell nice though, sort of fruity. Kind of like apples," admitted Yamamoto.

Tsuna's jaw dropped. "Yamamoto! Dr. Shamal, stop spreading your perverted ideas to others."

Shamal gave Yamamoto an approving smile. "See, you've become a true man now."

The baseball player just gave a confused smile and nodded. "Tsuna smells good too, kind of like breakfast."

Tsuna shook his head, "Anyway, Dr. Shamal, can you tell us what happened to Aki?" _Yamamoto is probably just hungry since we didn't eat yet. Like breakfast? _Tsuna felt a tiny wave of relief with Yamamoto's comparison between him and food, although he felt slightly embarrassed as well.

Shamal folded his arms and gave his statement, "She fainted."

"We know that already!" Tsuna yelled in frustration. "But why?"

"Well, it could be many things. Such as extreme heat, overexertion, drop in blood sugar, fasting, intense fear, extreme emotional duress, the sight of blood, wearing tight collars, standing for long periods of time, blood loss, breath holding, and fear of bodily injury." He took a breath and continued to tick triggers off on his fingers.

By the time he was finished, the boys' heads were spinning. Shamal said seriously, "So does it seem like any of these were possible?"

Tsuna tried to recount some of the causes, "Maybe she hasn't eaten enough recently. We were supposed to eat lunch right now, but then she fainted."

Yamamoto swung his legs back and forth on his cot, a troubled expression gracing his face. "One of the causes was 'intense fear,' right? Earlier, she avoided me and went to Tsuna. Maybe Aki is afraid of me and then she fainted?"

"Eh? That's not possible, Yamamoto, you're not scary at all," exclaimed Tsuna, feeling a small twinge of doubt. _It's true that Yamamoto is really serious when he plays baseball, but in a normal setting, he's really happy-go-lucky, and he gets along with almost everyone. But earlier, Aki did look scared, I wonder...?_

"But it's possible," Yamamoto gave a dejected shrug. Shamal had walked back over to Aki and pulled up her sleeves, examining her arms.

"It seems that she has many old scars, where did these come from?"

Tsuna looked over, surprised at the cuts and scrapes on her arms. "I don't know, but they weren't serious, were they?"

"No, they weren't. Scrapes you might get from falling off a bike or paper cuts," commented Shamal. "She should be coming around soon." At that moment, Aki stirred, her hands clenching the blankets.

"Tsuna-nii," Aki mumbled crankily, her eyelids heavy and her head pounding. "I'm hungry. There's only instant ramen at home. I want cake."

"Aki, you're up," said Tsuna, relieved. "Are you feeling alright?"

She opened her eyes at Tsuna's voice and looked at Tsuna and Shamal who were standing over her.

"The cute ojou-san has awakened," Shamal said, holding up a lock of her hair close to his mouth. Aki sat up, causing Shamal to lose his grip on her hair, and pulled the blankets close to her, wary of Shamal and his lecherous ways.

"Don't touch me," she said quickly, "you creepy old man."

"Ah, feisty, just the way I like'em," Shamal crept closer to her, smiling.

Tsuna stopped him again, "Thanks Dr. Shamal! I'll just have a talk with Aki now. Can you leave?"

Shamal paused, "Fine, young Vongola. I'm hitting the streets then, if the school comes looking for me, tell them I'm going out to hit on women."

"Dr. Shamal!" Tsuna gasped, but reluctantly let him go so that he had time to speak to his cousin. "Yamamoto, can you leave too? We'll see you back in the classroom. Thanks for your help." The tall boy nodded and gave a small wave to Aki, who sat on the cot, looking only at Tsuna.

Turning back to Aki, Tsuna said sternly, "Aki, we have to talk."

* * *

**A/N: This was supposed to be a more eventful chapter, but at least we got through the introduction of Dr. Shamal, haha. =) Have a great day~ ^^ **


	4. Onigiri

A/N: Hi everyone~ Bringing you another chapter ^^ Longest one so far (so...it really isn't _that_ long ^^;;) but I worked on it a bit everyday, so that's why it's looooonger~ Spring break starts so I hope I can update more often ^^ I have to say, I was very tempted to name this chapter _Flashbacks_ but that's only in the beginning bit...

**Random fangirling: ISN'T KOZATO ENMA SO CUTE? XD -end of fangirling-**

**Please do leave a review/criticism. Thanks for reading and enjoy~**

* * *

_It was a rainy day and Aki was ten, attending Keio University in Tokyo. The rain was only getting heavier and colder as the afternoon went on, but the young girl didn't mind the rain too much. Aki had gone to the convenience store to get bargain candy and was on her way home, skipping slightly in the puddles, swinging her rustling bag of sweets while twirling her umbrella above her. _

_"Aki-chan." A voice stopped her. She turned around, confused._

_"Who's there?" _

_"Aki-chan, can you help me out?" A figure stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway, drenched._

_"Oh, it's Tanaka-sempai. The weather report said it'd be raining," she responded, not making a move to share her umbrella. _

_He coughed, moving closer to the girl, towering over her, twice her age. "Sorry, I didn't watch it this morning. I was busy preparing for the lecture today."_

_"Class was cancelled because of the rain, I thought you knew?" She pointed out petulantly. _

_He shrugged indifferently, water rolling off his shoulders. "I guess I didn't get the memo. Anyway, can you share your umbrella, Aki-chan? I'll give you some candy to make it up to you."_

_Aki's eyes lit up at the thought of more free candy, but the adolescent still attempted to sound professional. "It's a deal, no complaining about how low the umbrella is, got it?"_

_Tanaka rummaged around in the sack that was on the ground and withdrew a small box that looked like it contained gum of some sort. He took out a pink circular ball the size of a pinky and presented it to her. "Here's my down payment."_

_She scrutinized the box, "That's a really small box; it doesn't look like it has enough."_

_"Trust me," he said, placing it into her palm, "it's really tasty."_

_Too curious to care any longer about the candy, she placed it on her tongue and chew methodically on it. It tasted too sugary for her liking. She was about to complain when she realized her umbrella had dropped from her hand. As she tried to pick it up, she became aware that she had no feeling in her legs, her arms, or even her neck anymore. Aki fixed her eyes on Tanaka, her mouth still functioning._

_"Tanaka-sempai, that candy was too sweet. There's something wrong with me, I can't move." There was a faint note of fear in her voice._

_Tanaka caught her just as her muscles gave up on her. He pulled her into the alleyway with him, and sat her down against the wall. He reached for her umbrella and smirked, "How cute, it has pink flowers all over it." _

_Tanaka snapped it closed and started to remove her shoes, untying them. When he was done, he held her closely, almost like a serpent's embrace, breathing into her neck. He removed her jacket, sliding them down her numb, small arms._

_Her teeth chattered angrily, "Tanaka-sempai. Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT RIGHT NOW." She shook violently from the cold, merciless rain, goose bumps standing up on her neck. The gravity of her situation struck her and she spat at his face, a mask concentrated on pulling off her high sock and then her t-shirt._

_"You swine!" she shrieked, her voice pitching. "You had this planned, didn't you? You drugged a ten-year old, don't you feel any shame? Let go of me this instant, stop touching me, I said, STOP TOUCHING ME!" Her voice betrayed her fear; it trembled and wobbled unsteadily behind her angry words._

_Tanaka smiled coldly, mirthlessly, wiping away her spittle. "But Aki-chan, you're not a __**normal**__ little girl, are you?" He pulled a knife from his damp coat pocket and held it to her spine,, pressing it against the thin camisole that had been underneath her shirt. She held her breath, feeling the ridge of the blade so close to her skin._

_"Why are you doing this?" she asked frostily, hiding her wretched fear._

_He laughed now, without cheer. "Why, you ask? For revenge, of course." Tanaka grabbed her pigtails, sliding the hair ties down and wrapped them around his fingers. _

_"A memento," he leered, showing her his fingers, her colorful hair ties wounded around them. "See? You look much more like a grown-up girl with your hair down, you're so pretty, Aki-chan," he cooed fakely. _

_She snapped back, "Don't call me that, Tanaka." Aki spat again, missing him. "I've never done anything to you, you creep; I see you're just another one of those standard pedophiles."_

_"Oh my, dropping the honorifics, Aki-chan? What a bad little girl, I'm afraid I'll have to punish you." He sliced the knife slowly along her back, a ragged path along her body,, which spliced her thin shirt. The bite of the knife made its way into her flesh, past the fragile layers of skin. _

_"Do you know what it feels like to be made a fool of by someone twice your junior?" Tanaka asked angrily, his fingernails twisting into her skin. "You've always gotten the better grades, and that has disgraced me in front of the whole school! My girlfriend dumped me because of you and my parents stopped supporting me financially because of you."_

_"Isn't that because of all your partying?" she said condescendingly. "It's not my fault if you spend more time clubbing than studying. I don't blame Rena-sempai for dumping you, you player. I've seen you with two other girls besides Rena-sempai before, you deserve it. Your parents must have seen the way you use their money to buy drinks and to splurge all the time and finally decided to stop wasting their money on you. I'll always be better than you, you scum."_

_He slapped her face, hard; her head jolted back from the impact. "I'm going to make you stop talking now, you little twerp. No one is ever going to want you after I'm through with you, Aki-chan." Tanaka ran his hands down her back, blood gushing out from the knife cut he had made, smearing it across her face._

_"Are you scared yet?" The college boy leered above her, his face lit up by lightning, a manic look in his eyes. _

_Aki closed her eyes, the feeling of wanting to vomit was becoming unbearable. __**Think about Tsuna-nii**__. __**He would be worried if I can't even take this trash out. I need to become stronger, for Tsuna-nii**__. Her desperate feelings channeled Dying Will energy into her. With a sudden kick, she sent Tanaka flying into the wall. She stood, no longer restrained by the drug her upperclassmen had given her, her muscles and strength were hers again. A Dying Will flame was lit above her forehead, shining in the gloom of the rain. Without mercy, she sent a flurry of kicks and punches that she had learned in various self-defense and martial arts classes, breaking his bones swiftly and silently. _

_"What are you? A monster? How are you freakin' ten?" he whimpered, paralyzed with fear and pain. _

_"I'm a genius, that answers everything," she retorted, her clothes blood drenched. She had ripped the arms of her jacket off and wrapped it around herself, binding the wound as best as she could, her body numb from the icy rain. _

_Suddenly, a van pulled up and two guys that she recognized from the University hopped out screaming excitedly, "Tanaka, did you do it?" They halted when they saw their friend beaten up on the floor, the fierce ten year old standing above him, dripping with rain and red._

_She said in a dangerously low voice, "You mess with Sawada Aki, you die. This time you were lucky, I'm not even pressing charges. How nice of me. Now scram." Terrified, Tanaka's friends quickly lifted him into the van, the wheels screeching as it raced away. Tired and broken, she slumped to the floor, her tears starting to mingle with the rain. She sat with her scratched knees drawn up, her arms hugging her legs. Noisy sobs shook her, and she was suddenly aware of the alarming pain radiating from her back and the thick, gooey liquid on her hands. She screamed in horror, giving into the dark and the icy rain._

_

* * *

_

Sawada Fiametta and Mitsuo stood with worried expressions at their daughter's hospital bed. She had been unconscious for five hours already and the attending doctor had informed them of a case of pneumonia. That meant it could take up to a few months for the coughing to stop, the doctor estimated.

_"Your daughter had to get stitches in her back as well, there was a nasty wound that looked like it was made by a knife." _

_Mitsuo had a deadly gleam in his eye, "A knife?"_

_"I'm afraid your daughter might have been attacked by one of the local gangs."_

_"I'm going to kill them." Fiametta snarled suddenly, her face twisted in anger. "How __**dare**__ they hurt my daughter, they'll pay one day."_

_"Honey, I agree. But Aki-chan probably dealt with them already, I think the luckless bastard has been tortured enough," Mitsuo put a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. _

_"Then I'll put all my energy into curing Aki-chan," Fiametta growled, looking at her daughter's body wrapped in gauze, her pallid skin dusty and bandaged. _

_Aki stirred, her eyes opening to see the doctor examining her IV drip. She screamed, her voice like cracking glass, the tears coming involuntarily, she sobbed in fright._

_"Additionally, It seems that your daughter is suffering from trauma, she might end up staying here for a few months for therapy in addition to treating her pneumonia, Sawada-san," the doctor reported, as he injected a tranquilizer into the girl's IV drip._

_"I want my daughter to get better, no matter what." Mitsuo said tight-lipped, his heart breaking at the sight of his broken little girl. _

_"I understand, Sawada-san."_

_

* * *

_

After a short two months, Aki was discharged from the hospital and transferred to Gakushuin Women's College to finish her studies, due to her slight symptoms of androphobia. Eventually, it only occurred occasionally after she graduated, although it seems that once in a while, she has violent reactions to men.

* * *

"Ah, Yamamoto, you're back. Where's Tenth?" Gokudera tried looking behind Yamamoto's shoulder. "And the stupid girl? What happened to her?"

"Aki-chan is doing fine, she woke up just now. Tsuna told me to come back while he had a talk with her."

Gokudera leaned back in his chair, "Che, that girl is trouble. She's making the Tenth miss lunch. When he gets back, I'll share my takoyaki with him."

Yamamoto smiled at Gokudera's affection toward Tsuna, "That's a good idea, Gokudera. We should start eating, afternoon break is going to end soon, and I'm _starving_."

Kyoko and Hana joined the desks in a circle and they began to eat their lunches, with the exception of Gokudera, who stubbornly wanted to wait for Tsuna.

"Your lunch will get cold," worried Kyoko.

Gokudera waved his hand casually, "It tastes better cold."

Yamamoto laughed, "Some things really do taste better cold, like ice-cream or popsicles, but I think takoyaki tastes better warm."

"You aren't a real man, Yamamoto," commented Gokudera mysteriously. "Real men like their takoyaki cold."

* * *

"So, Aki-chan, are you feeling better?" asked Tsuna, sitting on the cot Yamamoto had occupied.

"I'm feeling fine, Tsuna-nii," she said cheerfully, swinging her legs back and forth, the blankets wrapped around her shoulders. "How about we get back to lunch?"

Her cousin stopped her and shook his head. "No, we have to talk about your behavior first. It was really troublesome when you yelled at the class; I want you to apologize when you get back."

"When did you get so bossy, Tsuna-nii?" she teased, poking him playfully in the stomach. "Since you asked me to, I will."

Tsuna sighed a breath of relief. "That's good to hear! And I want you to apologize to Yamamoto. You want to make friends, right? He's a good guy, so try to be friendly."

She fidgeted at his request, looking out the window, the desk, the chair, anything but Tsuna. Finally, she turned to look at him. "I'll try."

Yamamoto's words echoed in Tsuna's mind. _Maybe Aki is afraid of me and then she fainted?_

"Hey, Aki," spluttered Tsuna nervously, "you don't happen to be _scared_ of Yamamoto, are you?"

_Hic!_ A hiccup escaped from Aki. "No," she lied. _Hic! _

_She's definitely lying! She always hiccups when she's nervous_. Tsuna was puzzled, why was his cousin lying to him?

"Don't lie, Aki-chan. You're hiccupping. You only hiccup when you're nervous."

"Fine," she admitted. _Hic_. "I'm afraid of him. Are you happy now?" _Hic._

Tsuna ran his hands through his hair in agitation, making tufts of hair stick up. Aki giggled and patted his hair down again.

"Yamamoto is a really nice guy," started Tsuna. "He didn't do anything to make you scared, did he?"

She shook her head quietly now, her hiccups gone after confessing the truth. "Tsuna-nii, Yamamoto-kun is your friend, right? He must be a good person then. But, sometimes, symptoms of androphobia pop up, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Androphobia?"

Hurriedly, she explained that she didn't have androphobia, only symptoms that were triggered once in a while. She didn't want to worry her cousin about her past. "I don't usually freak out like that, I'm sorry, Tsuna-nii. I'm pretty normal most of the time."

"It's not your fault, Aki. I do hope that you can try to be friendly though, it's not as hard as you think."

"How about we go back now?" she asked, ignoring Tsuna's last statement.

* * *

"Oi, Yamamoto. I saw that, you stole a takoyaki, didn't you?" accused Gokudera, his chopsticks pointed at the suspect.

Yamamoto laughed guilty, "It was tasty, thanks Gokudera."

"I didn't say you could have it! I'm saving my takoyaki for the Tenth!" Gokudera yelled angrily.

The door to the classroom slid open and Tsuna and Aki walked in. Gokudera eagerly turned to Tsuna, holding out a takoyaki for him. "Tenth! I saved you a takoyaki!"

_Since when did Gokudera-kun like takoyaki so much? He's acting like Lambo!_ _I wonder why Aki isn't afraid of Gokudera-kun. He's really scary sometimes! _Tsuna cringed at the thought of Gokudera's scariness, but reluctantly accepted the takoyaki from Gokudera's outstretched chopsticks.

"Thanks, Gokudera-kun," said Tsuna, in between bites. He sat in the seat that Gokudera had pulled up, which meant that Aki was forced to sit in between Tsuna and Yamamoto. She angled her chair awkwardly away from the baseball player and scooted closer to Tsuna, pulling her bag from her desk and held it in her lap.

Tsuna opened his lunchbox, happy to see that his mom had included some leftover katsudon. He glanced over at Kyoko, who was eating one of those cute octopus wieners. She noticed him looking and smiled, but glanced over at Aki.

Kyoko introduced herself to Aki across the desks, "I'm Sasagawa Kyoko. It's nice to meet you. Is it alright if I call you Aki-chan?"

Aki blurted, surprised at herself, "Sure!" Taken aback by her own reaction, shyly, she added, "It's nice to meet you too, Sasagawa-san."

Kindly, Kyoko replied, "You can call me Kyoko, if you'd like. And this is Hana-chan." Grudgingly, Hana introduced herself as well, still unimpressed by what she dubbed as Aki's temper tantrum earlier.

"Aki-chan, you should start eating lunch soon. Afternoon break is going to end soon," advised Kyoko.

"K-Kyoko-chan," said Aki, unaccustomed to calling anyone but Tsuna so informally. "Thank you for worrying about me."

"No problem," Namimori Middle's idol smiled, returning back to her lunch.

Instead of pulling out a bento of some sort, Aki grabbed a fistful of papers and a mechanical pen, and slapped them onto her desk. A free falling paper drifted to the ground. Tsuna leaned over and picked it up and then made an appropriate reaction.

"Aki! What is this?" he asked, slightly bothered by what he saw.

"It's a sketch."

"I _know_ it's a sketch, but why do you have a sketch of _me_?" Tsuna asked, bewildered.

Aki shrugged, "I was bored during class, so I wanted to doodle Tsuna-nii. Don't you look so cute?" That particular sketch was of Tsuna sleeping in class, with some drool hanging out of his mouth as he slept. Tsuna eyed the other papers Aki had pulled out. Suspiciously, he leafed through the stack, looking at more light sketches of himself and even a few of his classmates.

He stopped at a certain one of Gokudera, depicted with an octopus as hair, glaring at the teacher during class. In the corner, she had written in block letters [OCTOPUS HEAD]. Tsuna turned to Gokudera, who was busy digging in and quickly stuck that sketch at the bottom of the pile. A sketch of Kyoko talking with Hana piqued his interest, as he smiled goofily at the 2-D Kyoko.

"Tsuna-nii," Aki whispered, "What are you smiling at? Do you like my pictures?"

Flustered, Tsuna put down her sketches, a guilty smile on his face. "Nothing! They're really good, Aki. But why do you have sketches of me when I was younger too?"

Aki grinned. "Tsuna-nii was really cute as a kid."

"What about Gokudera-kun's sketch?"

"He has funny hair, I wanted to make a parody of Gokudera-kun."

"Kyoko-chan and Kurokawa?"

"They looked like they were enjoying their conversation so I wanted to capture the essence of that moment."

Tsuna realized, after sifting through her sketches, that there were no sketches of Yamamoto. "You didn't draw Yamamoto."

"I didn't really look at him closely." Aki straightened her stack of papers and pulled out one of the Tsuna drawings. She started to shade in his hair with a pencil, humming slightly under her breath.

"Hey Aki, you haven't eaten anything yet. Where's your lunch?" asked Tsuna, giving up on the Yamamoto topic again.

"Hm?" she looked up from shading and stopped humming. She lied, "I'm not hungry right now." Aki had forgotten to buy lunch the night before and in addition, she hadn't remembered to bring any money with her. She had been so excited to see Tsuna that she'd forgotten that she would have to eat something besides instant ramen, the only food that was in her house.

_She's totally lying!_ Tsuna recalled back in the nurse's office, she had called out "I'm hungry" in her half-unconscious state. But there must have been a reason that she was lying to him, he concluded, so he decided to leave the matter alone.

"Here, you can have these, Aki-chan." Yamamoto placed two onigiri in front of her, smiling, as usual. "If you don't have any lunch, just say so. I bought a lot of these at the convenience store near my house, and they are _really_ good."

Aki held her sketch to her chest and prodded the onigiri with her pencil warily. An image of sugary pink "candy" floated through her mind. She shuddered, but picked up an onigiri, giving into her hunger.

"It's fairly fresh, if that's what you're worried about," interjected Yamamoto, noticing her reaction.

She took a tiny bite, chewing thoroughly. _It's a tuna mayo onigiri_, she thought, pleasantly surprised. _My favorite! _Enthusiastically, she took larger bites, swallowing them a bit too quickly. Not surprisingly, one of the larger bites stuck in her throat. Panicked at this development, Aki groped around for a thermos, but of course, she hadn't brought any beverages with her.

_Whack_! Yamamoto severely slapped her on the back several times, dislodging the piece of rice that was stuck in her throat. She coughed a few times, and continued eating, accustomed to choking when she ate too fast, which happened whenever she got excited about food…which was also often.

"It's not healthy to eat so fast," advised Kyoko, placing an octopus wiener in front of Aki. "If you want some food, I'd be happy to share."

"Kyoko-chan, thanks for the food," Aki said, examining the wiener, and then proceeded to practically inhale it.

"Aki! What happened to your table manners?" exclaimed Tsuna, embarrassed of his cousin's messy way of eating in front of Kyoko and everyone.

"I didn't have any breakfast," explained Aki apologetically, biting into the other onigiri that Yamamoto had given her. "This is really tasty! Tuna mayo onigiri is my favorite."

"Ahaha, Aki-chan, you sure do have a big appetite. I'm glad that you like it. If you want some more, go ahead and ask." Yamamoto laughed.

Feeling a small morsel of gratitude, she turned to the baseball star and mumbled at his hands, "Thanks for the food, Yamamoto-kun."

"No problem, Aki." Something in his voice made her look up — directly into his eyes. She froze. It was the first time she had looked directly as his face, and she had to admit it was different from what she had expected, cold, haunting eyes from the past, not the warm friendly eyes that she was greeted with.

_Damn_, she thought. _Damn me, I like his eyes_. He might have been a devil or a saint, but _damn, _she liked his eyes. Mechanically, her fingers curled around her sketchbook and pencil. She flipped open to a new page while still gazing at Yamamoto's face, her pencil touched the blank sheet and she started with his eyes. Breaking their gaze, she concentrated on sketching Yamamoto, his eyes still lingering in her mind as she drew on.

Yamamoto took a swig of milk, letting out a sigh of content. But he was curious. Aki had looked up, startled, and then in a quiet frenzy, began to draw. He peered over her shoulder to see what she was sketching and felt a small pinch of joy when he saw what was on the page.

"Wow, that's really good! It looks just like me. You're amazing, Aki-chan," praised Yamamoto enthusiastically.

She turned her head to reply, but Yamamoto had been leaning in, _right_ next to her, so when she turned, they were nose to nose. Taken aback, she jerked backwards in her chair, causing it to fall with her. _Crash!_ She landed on her back, papers strewn over the classroom floor.

"Ouch," she said, rubbing her spine, as she gathered her work. "There's something called personal space, you know. Don't surprise me like that next time, got it?"

"Sorry about that," Yamamoto laughed, helping her up.

"Aki, are you alright?" Tsuna inquired.

"I'm fine, Tsuna-nii." She dusted off her uniform and sat back down again, continuing to draw.

"Don't forget," reminded Tsuna, it seemed that Aki and Yamamoto were getting along, "you still have to apologize."

Aki sighed, hoping that he had forgotten. Once again, she turned to Yamamoto, this time, looking into his face. "I'm sorry about earlier, I was wrong to yell at you. I hope you can forgive me," she said awkwardly, in choppy fragments.

"That's alright. I'll forgive you," Yamamoto said, accepting her apology. "It must be hard being a transfer student." Feeling courage from having apologized once, she appealed to her new classmates, asking for their forgiveness, saying that it was ok to call her anything that they wanted (although she still cringed inwardly at the thought of random people calling her 'Aki,' she had to suck it up for Tsuna). Some still shunned her, some secretly admired her, and some were just apathetic to her. Overall, it went very well.

* * *

"I'm home," announced Tsuna, removing his shoes at the entrance.

"Tsuna, you're back," said Reborn, appearing from the kitchen. "Introduce me to her."

The Arcobaleno pointed at Aki. He changed his mind, "Never mind No-Good Tsuna, I'll introduce myself. My name is Reborn, I'm Tsuna's home tutor."

Aki stood behind Tsuna, still in the doorway. She went in front of Tsuna to introduce herself to Reborn, whose name sounded awfully familiar.

"My name is Sawada Aki, I'm Tsuna's cousin. It's nice to meet you, Reborn-kun."

Reborn tipped his fedora and Leon jumped into his hand, "As I thought. So you're Sawada Aki. Do you want to join Tsuna's family?"

"Um…I'm his cousin," she repeated uncertainly. "If you mean some other kind of family, then I'd love to join that too. I want to be in Tsuna-nii's family!"

Leon transformed into a green gun. Reborn cocked his gun at Aki and smirked, "Then prepare yourself, Sawada Aki."

* * *

**A/N: Yay, longer chapter~~~ I was really tired writing the last part of it...so I'm sorry if I ended the chapter a bit abruptly ^^;;**

**Enjoy everyone~~ Your reviews and reading this makes me really happy! ^____^**


	5. Spring Onions

**A/N: Yay~ Another update...in the middle of the week, yatta~ (yay for Spring Break ^^) Yay for cute moments~ (well...at least in my opinion, _I_ thought it was cute ^w^)**

**I wonder why the titles have been all food names...lol XD**

**Do enjoy~ Reviews are much appreciated~~ (so is constructive criticism!) thanks for reading, everyone~ XD **

* * *

Reborn was pointing his gun at Aki, telling her to prepare herself. She was alarmed that the chameleon had turned into a gun, but she realized it was even more alarming for an infant to be holding a gun.

"Is that a real gun?" Aki felt the need to ask, her body tensing, her arms spreading slightly, reflexively wanting to protect Tsuna.

"Yeah, it's real," Reborn said, as he shot a bullet. Automatically, Aki dodged it and back flipped out of the way, forgetting that Tsuna was right behind her. They both fell to the ground in a heap, with the muzzle of Reborn's gun still pointed at their direction.

"Sorry Tsuna-nii!" exclaimed Aki, trying to get up by supporting herself, her hand on Tsuna's knee.

"OW!" Tsuna's eyes bulged out as Aki leaned on top of him, the pressure building on his kneecap. "Aki! Please get off of me!"

"Oh," said Aki, noticing the position they were in. She got off quickly and stood up, yanking Tsuna up as well. "That must have hurt. Is your knee alright?"

"It should be," said Tsuna. "Anyway, Reborn, what are you doing? Shooting a bullet like that is dangerous!"

"I'm holding the Family Entrance Test for Aki." Turning to Aki, he said, "You have to dodge these attacks and tell me what Tsuna's situation is. If you don't, you'll die."

"That's kind of harsh, but I'll do it," said Aki, with a determined look. "When do we start?"

"We already started," replied Reborn, shooting another bullet. Aki rolled out of the way and grabbed Tsuna's hand, dragging him out of the doorway, onto the street.

"Let's run, Tsuna-nii!" she said excitedly, already pulling him down the block.

"Wait, why am I being dragged into this?" he cried out as he staggered along with Aki. "Reborn! Don't involve Aki with your dangerous plans."

Reborn followed, firing a sub-machine gun. "Stop being a loser and run, No-Good Tsuna, or you'll be killed."

"Me too?" whined Tsuna, as Aki ran faster, tugging at Tsuna's arms.

"Tsuna-nii, faster! He'll catch up soon if you don't hurry." She pulled him out of the way of incoming missiles and they hurried down the street. Reborn followed with Leon transforming into a new weapon at every second.

Gokudera and Yamamoto appeared from the other street, Gokudera looking eagerly for Tsuna.

"Tenth! Are you alright? We heard explosions and thought we'd come see if you needed any help." Spotting Aki pulling Tsuna, he scowled. "I told you, don't touch the Tenth!"

"Are you playing another mafia game, Tsuna?" Yamamoto called down the street. "Let me join too!"

"Alright then, Gokudera and Yamamoto, you two can go wild. Aki is having her Family Entrance Test," said Reborn, shooting huge bullets at Aki.

"What?! That stupid girl is joining the Family? She's not worthy to protect the Tenth. I'll eliminate her now," said Gokudera with a grim smile, taking out his explosives.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto are in this too?" yelped Tsuna as Aki pulled him.

"Stop getting distracted Tsuna-nii, concentrate on running. Your form is so bad!" complained Aki, unaware of the two additional pursuers.

"Triple Bomb!" yelled Gokudera, throwing up bundles of dynamites at Aki while winking at Tsuna, "Tenth! Please dodge it!"

"Tsuna-nii, run!" shouted Aki, shoving him down the street. She stood in front of the incoming bombs and pulled out blue shurikens, concealing them in her hands. Aki evaded the explosives, darting in front of Gokudera, pinning him to a tree with her hidden shuriken. "Got you now, didn't I?" she smiled cheerfully.

"Why you —" growled Gokudera, unable to move from his position, the shuriken tightly wedged into the bark.

"We'll come back for you after the test, alright Gokudera-kun?" Aki patted him indulgently on the cheek.

"You cheeky brat, don't leave me here!" shouted Gokudera in anger, flinching from her icy hand. "You better protect the Tenth, you freak with cold hands!"

"Bye Gokudera-kun!" she waved as she ran to catch up to Tsuna, still unaware of Yamamoto following her with Shigure Kintoki.

_Tenth!_ The word rattled around her mind, familiar. _Gokudera-kun calls Tsuna-nii the Tenth for a reason…_

"Yarazu no Ame [Last Minute Rain]!" Yamamoto sent his katana flying towards the back of the sprinting Aki. The girl turned her head slightly and her eyes widened in slight surprise. Her body reacted faster than her mind, she jumped up as the blade flew underneath her. Faster still, Yamamoto retrieved his sword, bringing it down on Aki's shoulder. It bounced back with a slight metallic _clang!_ Yamamoto stopped and stared, forgetting his competitive desire to win temporarily.

"What just happened?" he asked, as blood started to drip down Aki's sleeve.

"Surprised? I have shuriken hidden as shoulder pads, which caused your sword to deflect slightly. It's carbon steel," smirked Aki, reaching into the collar of her shirt and withdrawing a blue shuriken that was slightly bloodied. "That sword of yours drove one of them into me, but it didn't really hurt."

"Are you alright?" asked Yamamoto, worried. He wiped some of the blood off her forearm, only to smear it around more, making more of a mess.

"I haven't passed the test yet, so of course I'm not alright," she said, her brows furrowed in frustration, hiding her shuriken again in her jacket pocket. "Don't touch me. It's all gross now."

He laughed sheepishly, "Sorry about that. I don't have a napkin with me or anything."

She placed her hand on her hip, "Well? Aren't you supposed to be testing me or something? Hurry up and get it over with."

"You're hurt, you should take a rest," suggested Yamamoto, holding Shigure Kintoki loosely in his left hand.

Aki sighed, "So you're not going to take me seriously, huh?" She ran around him and pounced. Yamamoto felt slender arms encircle his neck and legs wrapped around his waist, making it hard to move. Aki huffed into his neck, "You aren't attacking me because you think I'm weak. But now you've lost your chance to attack me, you fool."

Yamamoto's hand reached up to scratch the place where Aki had breathed into but ended up poking Aki in the cheek.

"Hey, don't poke me!"

"Sorry, my hairline is itchy. Can you scratch it for me, Aki-chan?"

"No way! I'm not your maid or something," she objected. Seeing her chance, Aki kicked at Yamamoto's hand, causing Shigure Kintoki to be dropped to the ground. The girl adeptly leapt to the ground, rolling as she grabbed Shigure Kintoki. In her hands, it turned back into a wooden bamboo sword.

"You can't fight me without a sword, can you?" Aki shouted over her shoulder as she ran. Yamamoto just stood there watching her run away, the wooden sword trailing behind her.

"She got me, huh?" he smiled wistfully, scratching the spot she had refused to itch for him.

Yamamoto had reminded her of something. Another clue. _Are you playing __another mafia game?_ He had said that. _Mafia. Tenth._ She felt close to solving it.

_Reborn._ She snapped her fingers, remembering an eavesdropped conversation.

_"Reborn-san is going to Japan to train Vongola the Tenth, I hear? Will there be any need for me to stay in Japan?" A pause on this side of the conversation. "Do you want me to send Aki to Reborn-san? She may prove useful to him." Another pause. "Yes, I understand. Have a nice day."_

_Her father hung up as her mother emerged from the closet, holding up a red dress to her body._

_"How's this look, honey?"_

_"I think blue may suit you better, darling," commented Mitsuo, sitting on the bed. Curious about the conversation she had overheard, Aki barged into the room. Mitsuo looked up at his daughter._

_"Aki, is everything alright?"_

_"Yes. I was just wondering…who is Reborn-san?" She thought she glimpsed a sharp look in Mitsuo's eyes, but it quickly disappeared._

_"Ah, Reborn? He's one of my… you could say, colleagues."_

_"Is he going to be at the business dinner with you and Mama?"_

_Fiametta remerged, wearing a blue cocktail dress. "Aki-chan, Reborn-san is a really busy man, so he's not coming today. Why don't you go and play outside? Or better yet, you can call up Tsuna-kun?" _

_Aki pouted, "I can't bother Tsuna-nii, he must be really busy with his studies. But I hope you have a nice dinner, Mama, Papa." Aki dutifully smiled and left the room._

_"Thank you dear," Fiametta smiled, closing the door._

_"Fiametta," pointed out Mitsuo. "You don't know Reborn-san." _

_"I know I don't know, but sometimes you're really bad at handling Aki-chan's voracious curiosity, Mitsuo." _

_"Reborn coming to Japan means that Aki can go meet Tsuna again."_

At the time, their conversation had seemed really strange and unrelated to her, but now she realized, it had everything to do with her. Her mind raced as she ran, she could see Tsuna-nii up ahead of her. _Tenth. Mafia. Reborn. Vongola. __**Tenth**__. Tsuna-nii?_

Aki screeched to a stop. "Reborn-kun! I've figured it out." Reborn whirled by in a Leon-copter.

"Have you? Tell me then."

"Tsuna-nii is the Tenth, right? Vongola the Tenth."

"Even an idiot could figure that out," retorted Reborn, pointing his gun.

"The Vongola is part of the mafia, right? So that makes Tsuna-nii, Vongola the Tenth, the tenth generation boss of a mafia family. And _you_, Reborn-kun, are his home tutor. You're a hitman aren't you? I don't know how or why, but you're a hitman." Aki still shook her head at such a ridiculous idea, but it was the only possible idea she had.

Leon transformed into a handclapper. "Well done, Sawada Aki. You've passed the Family Entrance Test. You're part of Tsuna's Family now. I'm hungry, let's go home now." Reborn started back towards the house.

"That's it, I passed?" she asked, clutching Shigure Kintoki in disbelief.

"Yeah, you did it, Aki!" Tsuna came up to her, dragging Gokudera, whose legs had gone numb from being stuck in one position.

"You idiot woman, why'd you have to leave me like that?" Gokudera shouted.

"You would have done the same," shot back Aki.

"There, there. Don't fight, you two," Yamamoto said, coming up behind them.

"Hey, Aki. Can you go to the market and pick up some spring onions for dinner? Kaa-san asked me when I went to get some bandages for Gokudera-kun. We'll go ahead, ok?" asked Tsuna.

"Sure," replied Aki. Tsuna staggered off with Gokudera around his shoulders.

"Tsuna, do you need help with Gokudera?" called out Yamamoto.

"No," grunted Tsuna. "Can you show Aki-chan the way to the market?"

"Alright," agreed Yamamoto. He curled his hand into Aki's, taking back Shigure Kintoki. "I'll be taking this." With an air of accustomed accuracy, Yamamoto swung his sword into the sheath.

"You idiot! Don't hold my hand," protested Aki, trying to pull her hand from Yamamoto's grasp. The blood on her arm had dried, a trail of murkiness that extended to her wrist.

"I don't want you to get lost," replied Yamamoto cheerfully, tightening his grip. "We better get you washed off too."

"Feels more like a dog on a leash," muttered Aki.

"What?"

"Nothing." On second thought, she did have _one_ question for the hand-holding idiot. "You never answered my question from earlier."

"What question?" Yamamoto cocked his head to the side as he pulled gently on Aki's hand, leading her into a store. "You know, Aki-chan, your hands are oddly cold."

_Ignore that comment._ _Ignore that comment. Ignore that comment_.

"Well, your hands are oddly warm," she blurted out. She blushed at her comment. _What is that idiot making me say?!_ _Who cares about hand temperatures anyway? Only a hand-holding freak would._

He had been gazing at a line of sports drink when he looked at her. "Is it really?" Curiously, Yamamoto put his free hand on his cheek. Then he took Aki's hand and placed it on his cheek. His eyes lit up with amusement.

"It's true! My hands are warmer," he chuckled. "See?" Yamamoto placed her free hand on her neck and then his free palm on her neck.

"What do you mean 'see?' I'm the one that pointed it out. And it's not like it means anything," she scoffed, brushing off his hand. She wriggled her hand out of Yamamoto's hold and walked around the store. "The spring onions are over here."

They weighed a pound of spring onions out and walked to the counter. The clerk said to them, "That'll be 184 yen please."

Automatically, Aki reached for her wallet, but then stopped short. She had forgotten she didn't have any money on her. Tsuna-nii was still No-Good Tsuna, huh? He hadn't remembered to give her any money either.

Red with embarrassment, Aki tried to take back the vegetables. "I'm sorry, I'll ju—"

"Here," Yamamoto dropped the money on the counter. "This should do."

"Thank you very much. Your change is 16 yen. Have a nice day."

As they walked back, Aki clutched the shopping bag. _That was so embarrassing. I'm never going to forget my wallet again! It's so troublesome._

"I bet it's going to be really tasty," spoke Yamamoto, laid-back as ever.

"What is?"

"The spring onions. You picked some really good ones."

"Thanks."

More silence, as they walked. The sun was already setting and their shadows blended together as they strolled on.

"You know, I call you Aki because you're my friend," said Yamamoto, breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

Yamamoto gestured, "You know. You said to answer your question from before, so I'm answering it."

"Continue," she said, looking down as she walked, listening intently.

"Because you're my friend, I thought it'd be okay to call you Aki-chan. I call Tsuna, Tsuna, right? He's my friend too. It just feels more comfortable that way."

"What about Gokudera-kun?"

"Gokudera? I don't think he'd like it if I called him 'Hayato' anyway. He'd probably get mad, that guy."

"Who said you were my friend?"

At this comment, Yamamoto looked surprised. "Nobody said anything. We just are."

"You're not my friend."

"Well that's too bad, Aki, because you're my friend," grinned Yamamoto.

"How? I can't be your friend if you're not my friend."

"You just are. Besides, I'm your friend, right?"

Aki stopped and snapped, "Don't you listen to anything? You're not my friend. I don't have any friends. Stop insisting that I have friends."

"What about Sasagawa and Kurokawa? And Tsuna?"

Aki's eyes widened at the names, "Are they my friends?"

Yamamoto shrugged, still walking. "Are they? If you're happy when you're with them, then they're your friends."

"Wait for me," she said, catching up to Yamamoto. "They're my friends. So I suppose…you can be my friend too."

In response, he slung his arm around her shoulders, "See? I told you we were friends." Aki fidgeted, but let his arm curl around her as they walked.

"It's unfair though," she mumbled under her breath. "That you can call me Aki and I can't."

"Can't what?" Yamamoto looked down at the girl.

"I thought friends could call each other by name? Kyoko-chan let's me call her Kyoko. How come I have to call you Yamamoto?" bursted out Aki.

Yamamoto tilted his back and laughed. "You really are interesting, Aki-chan! You can call me Takeshi if you want, that's what my old man calls me."

"Takeshi," she growled suddenly in a deep voice. "Takeshi." She kept deepening her voice, calling out 'Takeshi."

"Um…what are you doing?" asked Yamamoto with a bemused smile.

"Do I sound like your dad, TAKESHI?" she rumbled in the deepest voice she could make.

"Kind of. Oyaji has a deeper voice though."

"Pfft, I can't make a deeper voice," replied Aki in her normal voice. "I'll just have to meet your father myself and judge it."

"You sure are a weird person," laughed Yamamoto, patting her head. She had gone silent again, thinking of a way to word her request, a sudden, odd desire, but Yamamoto beat her to it.

"Is there something you want to say, Aki-chan?"

She lifted her head high, with a slight flush, "I want to do that again."

Yamamoto flashed a confused look, "Do what?"

Impatiently, she stamped her foot, her face a soft tint of pink. Or maybe that was just the glow of the sun. "You know, _that_." She gestured wildly. Seeing his clueless expression, she decided to demonstrate.

"_This_." Aki went behind him, sliding her arms onto his shoulders, her feet still on the ground. "Please lift me."

A mini light bulb went on in Yamamoto's head. "I get it, you want a piggy back ride, don't you? You should have just said so." With no support from her legs, Aki had slid down his back to the floor again. Yamamoto removed the sword's sheath and strapped it to Aki's back. He motioned for her to climb on, grabbing her ankles, he hoisted her up. Those cold, apple-y arms surrounded him again and Yamamoto smiled to himself, supporting her legs. The bag of spring onions dangled from her hands, at his chest, swinging with each step.

"We're almost there, Aki-chan."

"Yep, Takeshi-uma."

"Uma?" He laughed. "I'm your horse now, Aki?"

"For now, you are." She leaned her head on him. "This feels so nostalgic. My Papa used to carry me like this all the time. It's really comfortable."

"I'm glad that you're comfortable. I guess I should consider myself lucky that Gokudera doesn't ask me to do these kinds of things. He'd be a bit hard to carry. Then again, it's weird to imagine Gokudera doing this."

* * *

Tsuna opened his door to look for Aki and Yamamoto. "They're still not here yet?" But then he spotted Yamamoto rounding the corner…with Aki on his back?!

"Aki," shouted Tsuna. "What are you doing to Yamamoto?"

"He's my horse!" she exclaimed happily, as Yamamoto carried her up to the Sawada gate. "We've got the spring onions, although Takeshi-kun had to pay for it, since you forgot to give me money."

_Takeshi-kun? Yamamoto is really amazing! He even softened up Aki-chan_, _although it seems more like she's using him for transportation than friends, _thought Tsuna. "Ah, thanks Yamamoto. Sorry for the trouble."

"No problem, Tsuna," replied Yamamoto, letting Aki off.

"Yo, little brother. Dinner's almost ready." Dino's messy blonde head popped out from the front door.

"Ok, Dino! Tell Kaa-san we'll be in soon," waved Tsuna.

"D-Dino?!" Aki said, surprised, with a slight edge of annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, if it isn't Aki-chan. I didn't know you were acquainted with Tsuna. You sure have grown up to be a pretty girl, Aki-chan."

Tsuna watched their conversation like a tennis match. And then his eyes popped out, "Wait! Aki, Dino, you KNOW EACH OTHER?!"

* * *

**A/N: Feel free to submit your ideas too, it'll probably help with writer's block down the road. (not there yet, though) Yay for Yamamoto making friends with Aki~ Although it's kind of like "CARRY ME SERVANT" relationship right now, haha XD Tsuna and Gokudera didn't really have a role in this chapter though... maybe next chapter? Oh right, and yayness for the arrival of Dino~ ^^**

**Thanks again for reading, everyone~ ;) **


	6. Sleepwalking

**A/N: Le gasp? Another update, so quick? XD The new longest chapter so far . Flashbacks do tend to get a bit lenghty so I made this one a bit shorter. -yawns- This was a bit tiring to write...since I kinda just wanted to hurry up and write the end of the chapter XDDD I really hope there was no OOC-ness (I'm really bad at detecting it sometimes ^^;;)**

**Please review~~ It makes me happy and makes me feel like it was worth updating so quickly for it XDDD Thank you to all who have reviewed so far ^w^ Enjoy~**

**As an extra note, can you guys stop by "Caution Tape!" and tell me what you think? It's my first slash oneshot, and I wanted to hear your opinions/advice~ Thanks~! You get cooooooookies if you stop by and review =D**

* * *

"D-Dino! I swear, you're such a stalker," Aki crossed her arms, walking up to Dino. "I can't believe that you're _actually_ here, you big dope."

"I'm actually surprised to find you here too, how do you know Tsuna?" Dino asked, smiling at seeing Aki again.

"_I _should be asking you that," she poked him in the chest with her forefinger. "Tsuna-nii is _my_ cousin. How do _you_, some random, double-thumbed Italian, know him?"

"I suppose you could say he's my little brother, or my junior pupil. Reborn used to tutor me before he came to Japan to train Tsuna."

"I suppose that means you're in the mafia. It makes sense now though, who else but an idiotic mafioso would give a ten-year old a gun?" she smirked, whipping out her shuriken. "Prepare yourself Dino, I'm definitely going to beat the pants off of you this time!"

"W-wait," stammered Tsuna. "Don't fight Dino, Aki! And what do you mean Dino gave you a gun?"

Aki shook her head to get some loose strands of hair out of the way and explained, "He handed me a handgun instead of a paintball gun one time. But most of the time, he just taught me how to shoot, mainly with paintballs. I hate to admit it, but I learned a lot of useful things from him, even if he messed up a lot."

_How does someone mix up a paintball gun and a handgun?!_ Tsuna could believe it though; Dino could just be _that_ clumsy sometimes. "Well, you can explain it later; Kaa-san wants us all for dinner now."

Aki grinned at that, "Great! I'm starving. I picked some really good spring onions with Takeshi." She glanced around, noticing the lack of Dino's subordinates. "Hey, where's Romario? I wanted to say hi."

"They went to the bar near the hotel," Dino said. "I'll pass on your greetings, if you want."

Everyone had already gone in to eat; the smell of nabe was just too enticing, so Dino was left with Aki in front of the house.

She poked him gently with the tip of a shuriken. "You can go do that. I'm getting some chow, you klutz. I'm going to have a good laugh at you spilling food all over your shirt. And there'll be no one to clean it for you."

"Ah, but you'll clean it for me, I know you will. You _always_ do, since you hate messes, don't you? You forgot to mention to Tsuna that I taught you how to use those shuriken. A little forgetful, aren't you, Aki-chan?"

Aki held up the shuriken threateningly close to Dino, scowling, "Don't act so high and mighty Mr. Mafia. You can clean your own mess, you idiot. Let's go eat." She opened the door, indicating that he should hurry up and follow her.

Dino grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him. "Don't be like that, Aki-chan. It's good to see you again. Can't you be nicer?"

"I missed you Dino," she said faux shyly. Her lips twitched into a smirk, "Something like that? You wish! It's good to see you still have your head attached. Now can we _please_ go eat?"

"A big appetite as usual," laughed Dino. "And still so prickly, Aki-chan. I shall give in to the little princess now, she demands her food or it'll be off with this head!"

_

* * *

_

It is the summer of Aki's tenth birthday. Due to _**that**__ incident, her parents have decided to send her to a nice, relaxing summer program in Italy. She should be happy, right? The only problem is that she hates everyone, those snobby little rich girls._

_"Hey, __Autunno__, won't you come eat with us?" a girl in a poofy dressed asked, out of politeness._

_The young girl scowled. That's all everyone had called her. __**Autunno**__. They preferred that to Aki and it annoyed the hell out of her. _

_"Hey, __cozza__, it's 'Aki,' not __Autunno__, got it? Actually, scratch that. You can just call me Sawada. You don't deserve to call me by name, you brat." It was an outdoor excursion on horseback and everyone was required to bring a picnic basket with them. A picnic basket was absolutely preposterous to her, so Aki rebelled, bringing a much more sensible knapsack. It was required though, to wear some kind of lady-like outfit so she had opted for shorts underneath her green plaid sundress. To get the counselor off her back, she had thrown in a matching sunhat with a green ribbon around the rim. It was such a pain, honestly, this whole camp thing. Her parents had hoped for friends for her, but she made more enemies than friends. The only person she was remotely friendly to was the cook, Cornelia, who snuck her extra bits of bread after meals. _

_The insulted girl sniffed with an air of disdain and trotted away with contempt. The atmosphere in the clearing was so claustrophobic, with the girls in ridiculously fancy outfits for an outdoor excursion. So she rode farther away from the group, to an empty clearing where it was nice and quiet. It was against the rules to be unaccompanied, but the young girl figured the counselors could care less. She dismounted and had a delicious lunch, eating slowly and savoring each bite. _

_It was when she was finished that she noticed that she couldn't hear the chit chat of the obnoxious girls anymore, and she felt a flutter of panic. The problem was, she couldn't remember which direction she came from. So she just hopped onto her horse and kept riding on, looking for a sign of that stupid gaggle of girls._

_"I've been watching you for an hour. You've passed this spot exactly, five times. Are you lost?" asked Dino, stepping out from behind a tree, frightening the horse, causing it to buck Aki. _

_"You baka, you're not suppose to surprise people like that," she yelled angrily, half in Japanese, half in Italian. _

_"A foreigner? It's a good thing Reborn gave me language lessons. Are you alright?" Dino offered her his hand, coupled with a smile. Aki shrank from him, her eyes showing fear, her anger dissolving into the cold fear._

_"You're one of those creeps, who mug girls in the forest, aren't you? Stay away! Come near me and I'll hurt you," she warned. Dino stepped closer, slowly, as if approaching a shy animal._

_"I'm not going to hurt you; I just want to help you. Are you lost? What's your name? My name is Dino of the Cavallone family. I live around here." Panic approached in her pupils, her breathing sped up, and she felt a heavy lump in her throat. Sprawled on the ground from being bucked, Dino loomed over her, like an ominous shadow (well, to Aki at least) and before she knew it, the darkness swallowed her up. _

_"Well, that didn't go so well," commented Dino to Romario. The bucking bronco proceeded to climb onto her horse and lifted Aki with him. "It seems like we've got an interesting little girl here. Let's go back, Romario."_

"_Yes, Boss." Romario turned back to the flashy, red sports car and started up the engine. Hey, someone had to bring the horse with them._

_

* * *

_

"Where am I?" Aki jolted awake to find Romario pouring her some tea. "I knew you two were kidnappers." She looked around at the fancy mansion, complete with marbled tiles and fountains. She added, "Filthy rich, huh? Ricco sfondato! You don't even need ransom money."

_"You're wrong. A man should always help a lady in distress. We didn't kidnap you," answered Dino. "And you're at my house, so feel free to stay however long you like, Aki-chan."_

_She glared. "How do you know my name, Blondie?"_

_"It was on a nametag inside your bag," said Dino, dangling her knapsack from his hands. _

_"And your name is Dino, if I recall correctly?" Dino grinned, thinking Aki had started to warm up to him. He was proved wrong, when she sneered in the nasty kid variety, "What a stupid name. You're named after the Flintstone's purple dinosaur."_

_"You're really a kid after all, making fun of my name?" smiled Dino kindheartedly. "Here, you can play with this if you like." He handed Aki what he thought was a paintball gun, but he had forgotten the small detail that Reborn had switched it with a real gun that morning for training later. _

_"Oh, you carry a gun? How old are you?" Aki weighed the gun in her hand, analyzing it suspiciously._

_"Don't worry; it's just a paint gun. Try to see if you can hit that vase over there," pointed Dino to an expensive looking vase across the room. _

_"Wait, Boss! That was a gift from the Ninth to Reborn-san. If you let her shoot that, Reborn-san will definitely be upset," interrupted Romario, with a slightly panicked expression._

_"It'll be fine, Romario. I doubt she could hit that on her first try. She's only a kid, after all," reassured Dino. Aki frowned at the 'only a kid,' part. She was determined to hit it now, and if her new benefactor got in trouble with this 'Reborn-san,' like hell if she cared. She held up the gun, closing one eye to focus on her target, and pulled the trigger. __**Crack!**__ The bullet shattered the vase and pounded a hole into the wall. _

_"'I doubt she could hit that on her first try,'" mimicked Aki. "Hmpf. You're really stupid. This is a real gun, you fool!" A pathetic look of desperation crossed Dino's face as he schemed on how to avoid Reborn for the rest of his life. The Arcobaleno was definitely going to get him for this._

_Reborn had thoroughly beaten up Dino and tied him to a log that tethered at the edge of a ravine. Afterwards,, Dino trained Aki for a week to avoid Reborn, such as horse back riding, in which Dino, more often than not, was bucked off (what happened to the Bucking Bronco?), shuriken throwing, knife throwing, archery, and shooting (this time, with actual paint guns). Actually, Romario was more helpful than Dino. It also turned out that Aki had been wandering in the forest in the complete opposite direction of her camp when Dino had discovered her. So she had to return to that program again, or her parent's money would have gone to waste, but Dino visited nearly everyday, much to Aki's annoyance, but secret, reluctant, delight. _

* * *

"Aki-chan, it's so good to see you again. You've grown up to be a really cute girl, ne?" Nana smiled at her niece, who was helping out with the dishes. The boys were in Tsuna's room, hanging out as usual, not even bothering to help out. "I'm surprised that you know Dino-kun, it's a really small world, after all."

"Your food was delicious as usual, Auntie," beamed Aki, full and content. "Oh, Dino? We met three years ago when Papa and Mama sent me to Italy for a summer program of a sort."

"That really is a coincidence!" Nana exclaimed. "You two seem to get along very well. It was so nice of you to help Dino-kun at dinner. Tsu-kun must be really excited to see the both of you."

"Hm, we don't get along _that_ well. He escorted me to the Rose Ball, although I thought it was odd to have a ball for kids. It was for the counselors too, so they enjoyed it more than the younger girls did. Tsuna-nii is the same as usual, isn't he?"

Nana put a hand to her cheek in a swoon, "Ah, the Rose Ball? How romantic, Aki-chan! I bet you were very beautiful, you make such a good couple with Dino-kun."

Aki frowned at the misconception, "No, he escorted me because I didn't have anyone else with me. If Tsuna-nii had been in Italy, he would have taken me."

Lambo burst into the kitchen with shiny, hopeful eyes directed at Aki. "Lambo-san appears! I'm Lambo, five year-old hitman from the Bolvino family. My favorite foods are grapes and candy. Who are you? Do you have candy? What's a couple? Is it candy? Lambo-san wants candy!!"

Aki paused in the middle of cleaning a dish, "Auntie, who is this?" _What a weird kid, he's dressed up in a cow suit. But he's kind of cute_,_ in a bizarre way._

Nana pulled a lollipop from her apron pocket and handed it to Lambo. "This is Lambo-kun; he's a friend of Reborn-kun's." To Lambo, she introduced Aki. "Lambo-kun, this is Aki-chan, Tsuna's cousin. A couple is when two people are in love and spend a lot of time together."

Aki flushed, "Auntie! Don't explain those kinds of things to a kid. How old is he? Five? And don't spread weird rumors like that."

"Oh my, Aki-chan is embarrassed, how cute. Don't be shy!"

"Love is the most pure thing, after all," said Bianchi, stepping into the kitchen. "So you're Tsuna's cousin. My name is Bianchi, I'm Hayato's sister."

"Hayato?" Aki looked at the Poison Scorpion. "You mean Gokudera-kun? It's true that I do see a resemblance. My name is Sawada Aki. It's nice to meet you."

Bianchi smiled, "Thank you. Hayato is my _precious_ little brother after all; I'm delighted to hear we look similar." Somewhere upstairs, Gokudera sneezed. "I hear you're with the Bucking Bronco?"

"I-it's nothing like that!" Aki said in frustration. "He's not even my friend."

"Oh, that hurts my feelings, Aki-chan," said Dino, appearing next to Bianchi. "I thought we were friends too."

Aki scowled at Dino, "Dino! I told you taking me to that stupid thing would create misconceptions later. You were even stupid enough to have Romario take a picture. Pfft!!"

Nana's eye lit up in excitement, "You have a picture? I want to see Aki-chan in her ball gown; of course, I want to see Dino-kun too." Bianchi appeared interested as well, so Dino fished a tattered photo from his wallet. He showed it to the two women, who crowded around him. Aki stood at the side, drying the dishes, aggravated, her ears perked for their comments.

It was a picture of Aki, at ten years old, in a green ball gown, her face stiff with annoyance as Dino held her arm, dressed dashingly in a suit. She was looking off to the side, avoiding the camera lens, while Dino smiled brightly.

"Oh my, how cute, Aki-chan! Dino-kun, how handsome!" Nana complimented.

"She looks rather unhappy, Bucking Bronco," observed Bianchi.

Dino laughed and pulled out a different picture, "I actually like this one a lot better. Romario took it when no one was looking, when we thought he had left." This image was different, with Dino spilling a drink onto himself as Aki helped him clean himself, a fond smirk on her young face.

"Ara, young love," cooed Nana happily. Bianchi nodded her head with satisfaction. Aki looked up, alarmed.

"Dino! What are you showing them?" She snatched up the picture and looked at it with red dismay. "When was this taken?!"

"When you weren't looking," replied Dino, taking back the picture. It was then that Yamamoto entered the kitchen, holding four empty glasses. He noticed that they were all huddled around the picture so he peered over Dino's shoulder.

"Ah, Aki-chan was really cute as a kid," Yamamoto commented as he dropped the cups into the sink.

"What, so I'm not cute anymore?" retaliated Aki, irritated at these turn of events. If only Dino hadn't shown up! But she was unexpectedly happy as well.

"No, you're still cute. I just think you're prettier now, more elegant," said Yamamoto with an easy smile, just naturally friendly.

"You're such a —" began Aki, but changed her mind, returning to the dishes. "Hmpf. _Men_."

Yamamoto gave a hopeless smile and Dino just shrugged.

* * *

Tsuna worried. Gokudera scowled. Yamamoto laughed. Reborn slept. Dino tripped. Aki was laid out on the floor of Tsuna's bedroom, knocked out from having too much sugar. After finishing the dishes, she had sat with the box of chocolate Dino had brought over and ate the whole thing while watching Super Sentai on TV with Lambo and I-pin. Lambo had scoffed at the whole idea but ended up glued to the TV anyway. I-Pin liked the pink ranger. The sudden amount of sugar had caused Aki's system to crash and she ended up falling asleep as well.

Dino scratched his head sheepishly, "Maybe I shouldn't have shown that picture if I knew she was going to get so upset. At least she ate all the chocolates I brought over."

Tsuna hung his head in exasperation, "Now what should we do with Aki? We can't just leave her like this." Reborn sent a flying kick to Tsuna's head, suddenly awake.

"It's a boss's job to look after his subordinates! Do something, No-Good Tsuna."

"Reborn!" Tsuna rubbed the back of his head, wincing. "Fine, I'll bring her home, but don't call my cousin a subordinate." _And I don't even know where Aki lives! _

"You're really pathetic, No-Good Tsuna. You don't even know where your own cousin lives," said Reborn with condescending smile.

"Tsuna, I can bring Aki-chan home if you want. She lives near me, right? Oyaji told me a few days ago that a family had just moved into a house on my street. It's on my way after all," offered Yamamoto.

Nana walked in, handling more beverages. "Now that you mention it, Yamamoto-kun, Fiametta did mention a sushi place near their house. Thank you for taking care of our Aki."

"No problem," grinned Yamamoto.

"Then that settles it, Yamamoto will bring Aki home," announced Reborn. "I guess No-Good Tsuna will always be no good, huh?"

* * *

"It's a pretty tonight," remarked Yamamoto, as he walked home with Aki sleeping on his back. "You can meet my dad tomorrow; he likes to meet my friends." It was simple enough to find her house, since Yamamoto was friendly with all his neighbors; he knew which family had moved out and of course which family had moved in. Replacing the Tezuka nameplate in front was a new nameplate with [SAWADA] emblazoned across it.

"I guess this is the place." Yamamoto rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He turned the doorknob and was surprised to find that it was open. The teen flicked on the lights and saw that by the door was a keychain with Chococat and Blue Bear figures attached. He smiled to himself; Aki liked a variety of things, from Chococat to Super Sentai, huh?

Now that he was in her house, it was much easier to carry her in his arms, rather than leave her hanging off his back. He turned the doors to each room, trying to figure out which one belonged to Aki. There was one room with a king sized bed, and it seemed devoid of many items. _This must be Aki's parent's room. But no one's home…_ There were three other rooms with twin beds, but all of them were fairly empty, except for one. One room had boxes piled upon boxes, and a small suitcase in the corner. Yamamoto concluded that it was Aki's room since there was a sticker on her mirror of Espeon.

He placed her onto the bed, and pulled the blanket over her, up to her chin.

"Nng," she said, in her sleep, rolling out of the bed, onto the floor. Yamamoto laughed and picked her up again, but this time she fidgeted in her sleep. Suddenly, she stood up, her eyes flew open, to reveal a glassy blue.

"Don't touch me, Tanaka," she growled, moving into a battle position.

Startled, Yamamoto stumbled backwards. "Aki-chan? It's Yamamo— I mean, Takeshi. Are you alright?"

"You're going to pay, you pedophile," she threatened, her syllables slurred. Yamamoto realized that Aki wasn't talking to him; she was in fact, sleepwalking. He grabbed her arms, but her face tensed, and she swung at his face, missing as she fell to the ground.

"Aki! Are you alright?" Yamamoto examined her carefully, she seemed to be alright, and had returned to a peaceful slumber. Yamamoto sighed, an almost paternal smile crossing his face. If he left her alone in the house, who knew what other sleepwalking mischief she could get herself into? Especially when she was the type of person to leave her door open, forget her keys, forget money, and even forget the necessities of life, food!

Yamamoto dialed Take Sushi. "Oyaji? I'm going to stay the night at a friend's house, is that alright?"

"Takeshi! Why do you have to call so late? Which friend?"

"Sorry Oyaji, I'll introduce you tomorrow. Is it alright?"

"I suppose so. Don't call so late next time, got it?"

"Alright, goodnight." Yamamoto felt a little guilty intruding into someone's house like this, but the floor seemed awfully hard and cold. He poked around in the guest rooms and found a futon that was slightly smaller than he had hoped, but it was better than nothing. The Rain Guardian spread it next to Aki's bed, in case she fell from moving around too much again.

_That'd hurt a lot, if she fell again,_ thought Yamamoto. But he didn't consider the possibility of her landing on _him_ if she fell, and the painful consequences. Once Aki was nestled into bed again, Yamamoto stretched, doing a few sets of push-ups and sit-ups before crawling into the futon.

"Goodnight, Aki-chan," he smiled, before closing his eyes to sleep.

* * *

"Nng." Yamamoto woke up to find Aki and a mess of blankets next to him on the floor. _I guess she fell in her sleep again_, he thought, smiling. Aki had been extra flaily last night, resulting in falling onto Yamamoto almost immediately after he had fallen asleep. The early hours of the dawn had given her enough time to roll underneath the bed and back in her sleep.

"Good morning, Aki," greeted Yamamoto, sitting up. He pulled himself from the futon, noticing that Aki had even grabbed her pillow before falling down. He laughed, "You really are something, huh?"

Aki's eyes opened slowly, to reveal flat blue eyes, rubbed in with sleep. It seemed she was still sleep walking, or at least definitely not wide awake.

"Tsuna-nii?" she called out in a small, sleepy voice.

"Aki, are you awake?" Yamamoto asked, cautiously. "It's Takeshi."

"Tsuna-nii? What are you doing here?" she repeated, her speech slightly incoherent.

_I guess she thinks I'm Tsuna, haha. Maybe I'll play along_. "You ate a lot of candy yesterday. You might not feel so good today, Aki-chan."

"But I love chocolate," she protested feebly, sitting up now. Her hair was messy from moving around so much in her sleep and she had the air of a small child, waking up from a nap. Aki glanced up, making eye contact with Yamamoto. He froze, thinking that perhaps she had awakened. The girl crawled over to him, slowly and with care, stopping in front of him. Without warning, she climbed into his lap, making herself comfortable. Yamamoto looked at her with surprise, and gave her a small embarrassed smile.

"Aki? What are you doing?" Aki looked up with glassy eyes, and then reached her hands into his hair. She ruffled it, tousling it to her liking, her fingers reaching the tip of each strand, petting his head slightly. The teen gave him a wide smile, surprisingly affectionate and adoring, a smile she only reserved for her parents and Tsuna.

"Tsuna-nii, your hair is much softer than I expected. It's so fluffy," she squealed, leaning into Yamamoto, resting her head in the small space between his head and shoulder. Yamamoto, being an air-headed baseball freak, tried to take it all into stride, laughing at her compliment.

"Er…thank you, Aki-chan. It's good to hear it's fluffy."

Aki was quiet for a moment before piping up again. "I want to be coddled. No—, I mean cuddled. Aki wants to be cuddled."

_Talking in third person now?_ Yamamoto laughed inwardly, playing along. "Alright, how do you want to be cuddled?"

Without hesitation, she replied, "Hug me." Yamamoto flushed slightly at her request, but complied, wrapping his arms around Aki, still warm from the bed.

"Brush my hair, please, Tsuna-nii. With your fingers. It feels so nice that way. I like when people play with my hair," demanded the semi-conscious girl, nuzzling his neck. Yamamoto could feel a flood of heat rush to his face, and a slightly increased pulse accompanying it. He laughed it off with the thought that Aki was _really_ amusing when she talked in her sleep.

"Play with my hair," she insisted, her eyes pinned him down, although they were still clouded with sleep.

"Alright, alright. I'll play with your hair," smiled Yamamoto, still rosy in the cheeks. He ran his fingers hesitantly through her hair, getting stuck in the knots and gnarls of female hair. It was oddly soothing, combing her hair like this. A smile curved on his lips, sure she had put him through a heck of a lot of trouble the past few hours, but it had been incredibly fun.

After a short period of combing and combined patting of the head, Aki's eyes closed again. It wasn't long before she woke up for real, tired and sleepy.

"I had the weirdest dreams about horses last night," she said aloud, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Aki-chan. Are you awake now?" She turned to see Yamamoto and her eyes couldn't believe it.

"Takeshi-uma? What are you doing in my house?" Aki looked around, and then looked down. A giggle escaped. "Don't tell me you were sleeping on this small futon? This was for Tsuna-nii when we were younger."

_Ah, she's awake for real now_, thought Yamamoto with relief and slight disappointment. "Yeah, it was pretty comfortable though. I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself if you fell in your sleep, so I stayed. I hope you don't mind."

It was then that Aki noticed the time, forgetting to be angry at the intruder. She moaned, "Oh no, no, no, no. We're going to be late. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" She threw a pillow at him. "Oh never mind, you can explain later. Let's just _hurry_." Aki got up abruptly, tripping over the edge of the futon and crashed to the floor again. Yamamoto laughed, following her.

"Is there any breakfast?" the ravenous boy asked, slinging his bag over his shoulders.

"Instant ramen," she replied, busily tying her hair up in a hasty ponytail. "But we don't have _time_. We can buy something on the way." She grabbed her wallet this time, decorated with colorful stickers, and her keys. Yamamoto sighed, his stomach growling, but followed her with a grin.

* * *

Gokudera grinned, "Tenth! Isn't it great? That baseball freak didn't show up this morning. That stupid cousin of yours didn't show up either." He frowned, "The other stupid girl showed up though." Of course, he was referring to Haru, who always woke up early just to see Tsuna.

Tsuna worried, it was unusual for Yamamoto to be late, and even more bizarre that Aki hadn't arrived at his house at the crack of dawn. Just as Tsuna was about to reply, the mentioned pair burst into the classroom slightly before classes were scheduled to start.

"Tsuna, good morning," greeted Yamamoto.

"Tsuna-nii, morning," she said with a chipper smile, but her face betrayed her annoyance.

"Aki, Yamamoto, good morning." Tsuna looked curiously at his cousin, whose lips were set in a pout.

"Mah, mah, Aki-chan, don't sulk. I said I'll tell you later," said Yamamoto.

"It's highly suspicious, Takeshi-uma," responded Aki, her arms crossed.

'Wait, what happened, you two?" Tsuna asked, troubled by the fact that Aki was emitting waves of antagonism again. _I thought they became friends!_

"He won't tell me anything," sulked Aki. "I feel like something happened, and he's definitely hiding something."

"I already told you; you were sleepwalking," soothed Yamamoto. Tsuna had a bad feeling about this, sleepwalking? Aki was known to do some really odd things in her sleep…like going to the next town by bus, or making cookies at night.

"What happened, Yamamoto?" asked Tsuna, fearfully. The next boss of the Vongola grew alarmed when his Rain Guardian flushed at his question.

"She thought I was you, Tsuna," Yamamoto said, a nervous smile plastered across his face.

_ASFKSD;FK! That's the __**worst**__ thing that could possibly happen_, panicked Tsuna. _Aki used to do all sorts of weird things to me when I was younger. Especially when she sleep walked. This is definitely really bad_.

Aki looked alarmed as well, pinkening as her mind raced through worse-case scenarios. She awaited his reply with dread and horror, "What exactly did I _do_?"

* * *

**Some translation notes: Ricco sfondato - - - really rich/filthy rich**

**cozza - - - ugly **

**I apologize if I used the wrong Italian phrases/used them incorrectly (if you happen to know Italian, please do correct me~) **

**A/N: So there you have it, the new chapter~ If you guys are super lucky (and I get super motivated, which comes from reviews XD) and I kill myself doing all the HW I should have done, I might be crazy enough to update by Tues? Happy Holidays everyone~~ **

**Again, I apologize for any OOC-ness ^^;; feel free to PM if you have any ideas! Tell me what you think XD And with the picture of Dino in a suit, I was referring to Chapter 47, page 11. Aki sooooo has a suit fetish, LOL XDDD **

**thanks for reading and enjoy~ And please review *w* you'll make Tune really happpppppy~ XDD**


	7. Chocolates

A/N: So yay~ I'm actually crazy enough to update by Monday! yay~ Back to the food titles~ ^^ Actually...there's a lot of food in this one ^^;; In appreciation for my reviewers, I shall say my thanks to: x3iLoveAnime (thanks for always reviewing~~ ^^), UlquiorraNoKokoro (YES. ENMA IS CUTE. XD), EvilBoyzR2Cute, Kai G. Tayuki! And thanks to all the other reviewers I've never thanked. T.T THANK YOU~~

**The style is a bit different this time...since it flips back and forth to different scenes. Sorry if it's a bit annoying~~ Still Daily Arc (well, it's actually after the Varia Arc though), sorry if it's boring! I suppose I made it unintentionally funny, since in the last four reviews, they all include "haha." LOL xD**

**Important Notice! I posted a poll regarding the weapon that you think Aki should wield, so go vote on my profile! I'm curious as to what you guys think~~ XD Ok, that was long ^^;; So, enjoy and please review! ^^**

**P.S. Is Aki too Mary-Sue (or is she one?) -eyes widens in horror- I really hope she isn't T.T so do tell me what you think~~ (if she's too Mary-Sue...I'll have to work on that ^^;;) Thanks again for all the support~ Don't forget, feel free to leave advice! ^_____^**

* * *

"Kyouya, I brought you a present." Dino tossed a box into Hibari's hands. "Chocolates from Italy. They were so good that Aki-chan ate the whole thing in one sitting."

Hibari looked at the blue box tied with a shiny silver ribbon. He weighed the contents and then threw it back at Dino. "I don't accept gifts from herbivores."

"Hey, Kyouya! You should take these, you might like them." At the sight of Hibari's back, Dino sighed. "Fine, I'll leave them here in case you want them." Dino left with Romario, in a flashy red sports car, of course.

Curious, now that the stupid bronco had left, Hibari picked up the gift, opening the cover and popped a chocolate in his mouth. He chewed it slowly and then frowned. "Meh, only an herbivore would like this." He dumped the rest of the chocolates into the trash and walked away with Hibird on his shoulder.

* * *

Yamamoto shrugged uneasily, "You asked me to comb your hair. Actually, you asked Tsuna to brush your hair. And you said you liked chocolate."

A look of relief crossed Aki and Tsuna. That was surprisingly mild compared to the time Aki had tied Tsuna to a tree so that she could be the "prince" to rescue the "princess." Unfortunately, she had fallen asleep right after tying up her cousin so that Tsuna was left hanging upside down. Fortunately for No-Good Tsuna, his loud sobs for help woke up his cousin for real, and immediately, she ran for her Uncle Iemitsu, who laughed when slashing through the heavy ropes that constricted his son, saying that he should man up.

"That's it?" laughed Aki. "There was nothing to be embarrassed about, Takeshi-uma. I used to play dress-up with Tsuna-nii all the time, so I used to have him brush my hair while he was dressed up as a maid."

"Aki! Don't bring up such embarrassing memories," flushed Tsuna. "Anyway, I'm glad she didn't do anything too weird to you. Thanks for looking after Aki, Yamamoto."

"No problem, Tsuna," laughed Yamamoto, feeling a slight pang of guilt for leaving out some details. Aki caught it, the minor twitch of unease in his laugh and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She'd question her horse later.

* * *

Tsuna stretched his arms out on his desk; finally, it was time for afternoon break. He was hoping that he could eat with Kyoko-chan again, that'd be the highlight of his day if it happened. Aki flew a paper airplane over to his desk and waved. Tsuna groaned, what could it be now?

**Tsuna-nii, sorry I can't have lunch with you today. Hope you have a nice lunch with Kyoko-chan. ;)**

_She left me a note saying she can't have lunch with me today? What's with that last part about Kyoko-chan_, thought Tsuna, unfolding the rest of the airplane to discover a small doodle of himself, eating nabe. _Why did she have to include this picture?_ _More importantly, when did she draw a picture of me eating nabe?_

"Tenth! Let's have some lunch," said Gokudera, enthusiastically as always. "I bought some really good curry bread today; you can have some if you like."

"Thanks, Gokudera-kun," replied Tsuna, folding up the airplane. "Where's Yamamoto?"

"Who cares about that baseball freak?" shrugged Gokudera, sitting next to Tsuna. "I think I saw him go off somewhere with that stupid girl."

"You mean Aki?" asked Tsuna, feeling apprehension. His concern dissolved when Kyoko invited him to eat lunch together, Tsuna was too busy floating on cloud nine to worry. Nobody noticed the paper airplane on Yamamoto's desk that said this:

**Come to the rooftop and bring your lunch.**

* * *

"It's nice to eat under the sky sometimes," said Yamamoto, pulling out his convenience store bento, glancing up at the sky, a smile on his face.

"I suppose so." Aki leaned on the railing, facing Yamamoto. "So, Takeshi-uma, tell me what _actually_ happened, please."

"Didn't I already tell you?" He took a bite of curry rice. "Nothing really happened."

_He's keeping mum. How am I supposed to get him to fess up?_ Aki pondered and thought about some of her own weaknesses. She recalled a time when Dino had used it against her to admit to taking one of the last cookies from the cookie jar. Romario had baked some cookies for them to eat and Dino's subordinates just couldn't resist the delicious chocolate-chip goodness.

_"Who took the last cookie?" asked Dino, his stomach grumbling, his fists clenched._

_"Not us, Boss," said his subordinates, shaking their heads. All eyes turned to Aki, who was polishing Dino's whip. The girl looked up, defensive, not aware of the incriminating smudge of chocolate on her chin. Which Dino most definitely noticed. _

_"What? Why are you looking at me? I didn't eat it!" she exclaimed. Dino smiled mischievously, he had discovered one of her weak spots the other day when he was massaging her achy shoulders after a day of sparring._

_"Can you still say that after I'm through with you, Aki-chan?" Dino grabbed her arms and tickled her until she laughed out the truth: yes, she had taken the last cookie, just stop tickling her __**there**__, damn it. _

Aki smiled mischievously and pounced. She tickled underneath his arms, his neck, behind his ears, his ankles, every part that she could grab a hold of, she tickled. With no reaction from Yamamoto whatsoever except for a mystified smile.

She panted, "Why aren't you laughing? You're not ticklish?"

Yamamoto chuckled, "You sure are funny Aki. Sorry, I'm not really that ticklish. Were you playing a new game with me?"

Aki shook her head in the negative, "I was trying to force information out of you. It always works on me…" She sighed and sat down, taking out her own matching store bought bento.

"I knew it! It was embarrassing enough that you can't even say a word about it. Not a word _at all. _And my plan to tickle the truth out of you didn't work either."

Yamamoto comforted her, "It really wasn't that bad, Aki-chan. Don't worry about it."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm definitely getting it out of you one day." _I wonder how his alcohol tolerance is. If it's anything like Dino's, I'll find out in a couple years. Mwhahahaha!_

* * *

"Hey, where were you two during lunch?" questioned Tsuna as they walked to his house.

"On the rooftop. Just playing police and cops," Aki grinned, whirling imaginary handcuffs.

Tsuna gave her a confused look but decided to ignore it. At this point of his life, he was accustomed to his cousin's odd quirks and all, but this was a new side to her that he was a bit scared to find out. He called it 'friend-giddy.' She was more open to Kyoko and everyone then he had thought would be possible, but he was glad that she was making friends.

"I see, that sounds like fun," he replied awkwardly. Aki giggled into her sleeve at his unease. When she straightened up, she noticed something that she hadn't been aware of yesterday. She leaned into Tsuna, as if to sniff his neck. Of course, Tsuna's loyal bodyguard Gokudera had to stop her.

"You stupid girl, don't get so close to the Tenth!" Gokudera grabbed Aki's arm, trying to pull her away.

"Gokudera-kun, you're so touchy feely," she said, smacking him with her free hand. "You're always grabbing me." This tiny grain of truth irritated him enough that he let go of her, as if to prove, _no, I'm __**not**__ touchy feely._

Aki grinned, she had hit the mark. "I just noticed, but you three have the same rings. Did you get it from the same place? I want one, these look really cute."

"You stupid woman! These are the Vongola Rings, proof that we are worthy to protect the Tenth as his Guardians," Gokudera couldn't help bragging.

"Protect Tsuna-nii? I can do that too, maybe even better than you, _Gokudera-kun_."

"Do you want to fight on that?" Gokudera snapped back, already reaching for his dynamites. Luckily, there was a welcome distraction, well at least to Tsuna. Anything to prevent Gokudera and Aki from fighting.

"Tsuna-san?" Haru appeared around the corner. "Haru was right! It is Tsuna-san. Haru is so happy to be able to meet Tsuna-san after school." She looked at Aki and smiled. "Ah, who are you? My name is Miura Haru; it's nice to meet you!"

Acting on a sudden sadistic impulse, Aki blurted out, "I'm Tsunayoshi-kun's fiancé, Tezuka Aki. It's nice to meet you." To make it look more convincing, she clutched her cousin's arm, clinging to him like a doting girlfriend. She grinned inwardly at Haru's shocked and flustered expression.

"Tsuna-san's f-f-f-fiancé," stammered Haru, pink, perhaps with jealousy, or with embarrassment.

"Aki! Don't go and say these kinds of things on your own," chided Tsuna, dismayed at Aki's prank and that Haru had fell for it. But who was he to say anything? Tsuna himself had fallen prey to Aki's pranks before.

Yamamoto laughed, "Tezuka? That's the name of the family that just moved out of your house, Aki. Are you playing pretend?"

Tsuna stepped in front of Haru, as if to deflect Aki's lies. "Don't listen to Aki, Haru. She's just joking. She's actually my cousin." Haru breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the girl, no longer feeling threatened.

"Would you like to go eat some cheesecake, Aki-san? It's a special sale today! I was on my way to meet Kyoko-chan, when I bumped into you guys."

Aki just couldn't deny the prospect of free food, "I'm game. Should I call you Haru?" She lowered her head bashfully, "I'm sorry I tricked you before. I'm kind of new to this whole 'friendship' thing."

"Hahi! It's no problem, you can call me Haru. Don't worry Aki-san, Haru will be your friend," Haru smiled comfortingly. "Now let's go get some cake before it's all sold out!

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Enthusiastically, Aki dragged Haru by the arm along. In the wrong direction.

"Hahi! Um, Aki-san," Haru tried to ground her heels into the ground. "The cake shop is in the other direction."

"Right! I knew that," Aki replied cheerfully, to cover up her embarrassment. "I was just — just exercising in that direction. Now let's go eat!"

Cue the sweatdrops

* * *

"Mmm, this is really tasty. Haru is so happy that we got here in time," the girl sighed in satisfaction, biting into the creamy cheesecake.

"I'm glad you two got here in time too. I see you've met Tsuna-kun's cousin, Haru-chan. Let's all be good friends, okay?" Kyoko smiled, taking a sip of hot chocolate.

"That's right, Aki-san. You're one of us now," Haru grinned, savoring the taste of the sweet graham cracker crust.

Aki smiled nervously, unused to the company of female friends. "Thanks, Haru-chan, Kyoko-chan." She took a bite of cake, delighted at the balance of sweet and a small pinch of sour. The girl glanced at Haru, with a curious glint in her eye. "Hey Haru-chan, you don't happen to like Tsuna-nii, do you?"

This statement nearly caused Haru to choke on what she was chewing, her face turning cherry red. "W-What? Who told you that? It's true that Tsuna-san is the most charming boy and lovely and sweet. But Haru never said that Haru liked Tsuna-san in that way."

Aki grinned, loving Haru's stunned and defensive reaction. "I just had a feeling that you liked him. Who wouldn't love Tsuna-nii, right?"

Haru coughed, dislodging the cake crumbs. "But it's true, Haru like Tsuna-san, he's a very good person."

Kyoko piped up, "That's right, Tsuna-kun is really nice, and everyone likes him."

"Hm." Aki contemplated this, of course, who in their right mind _wouldn't_ love Tsuna-nii? But she had been fishing for deeper secrets, like who _love_ loved Tsuna-nii. She grinned wickedly to herself, she was _so_ very nosy. She'd let them off the hook. For now, that is.

* * *

"Tsuna, what are you going to do about your subordinate's training?" Reborn asked, sitting on Tsuna's bed, chewing at cookies Nana had made.

"Hah? Subordinates? Do you mean Aki?" Tsuna looked up from the math problem that had been eluding him for five minutes. "She doesn't need training, right? She's not even a Guardian. Anyways, I already said, don't drag my cousin into this mafia business, Reborn!"

"It can't be helped, No-Good Tsuna. What if she gets attacked? Do you remember what happened with Lambo? If you guys hadn't made it in time, Lambo, Fuuta, and I-pin would have been killed by Levi," said Reborn, darkly.

Tsuna flinched at the reminder, absentmindedly reaching for the Vongola ring around his neck. "I know. That's why I don't want Aki to be in the Mafia. I don't want anybody to get hurt anymore."

Reborn looked disappointed at this answer, "You just don't get it, No-Good Tsuna." The Arcobaleno landed a kick to Tsuna's head and flipped back onto the bed. "The only way you can protect them is to make them stronger. That's why you have to train Aki. She has potential."

Tsuna rubbed the back of his head, wincing. "I get it already, Reborn. But what am I supposed to do?"

Reborn smirked, "That's for you, as the boss, to figure out."

* * *

Aki waved goodbye to her new friends as she ran back in the direction of the school. During lunch, it seemed she had dropped her keys on the rooftop as she was investigating Yamamoto. As they watched Aki's back fade away, Haru and Kyoko conspired together, giggling. _A welcome party!_ They couldn't wait to tell Tsuna and the others.

"Phew, I'm glad it's still here," said Aki, scooping up her keychain from the rooftop. She glanced below and noticed a silver glimmer. Was that what she thought it was? Her heart sped up in excitement, as she raced down the stairs towards the trashcan. She reached into the trashcan, her nose wrinkling at the smell, and fished out the blue box with a silver ribbon. _As I thought, it's the same kind of chocolates Dino gave me!_ She lifted the cover and was giggling in glee, only one chocolate missing! Whoever threw this out was obviously stupid. A rustle from a nearby bush caused her to turn around, where Kusakabe Tetsuya, the Vice Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee emerged. He looked surprised to see someone beat him to the trashed chocolates, with just a hint of awkwardness that he was creeping around in the shrubbery to scout out a trash can.

"Do you want to share?" Aki offered, indicating to go walk towards the park. Kusakabe nodded.

* * *

"Tsuna-san!" Haru burst into Tsuna's room without ceremony, as usual. "Haru and Kyoko have a great idea! Let's throw Aki-san a welcome party. It'll be really fun."

"Gwhahaha! Lambo-san wants cake! Lambo-san wants cake!" The cow-suited kid bounced in, messily biting into a cookie while being chased by I-pin.

"Lambo, give back my cookie," said I-pin, throwing a Gyoza Fist at him, causing him to drop the stolen cookie. Lambo burst into tears, shouting the words 'unfair' and 'cheater.'

"Must tol-er-ate," sniffled Lambo, wiping snot onto his arm. "I can't!" He proceeded to pull the Ten Year Bazooka from his afro and shot it, with a pink cloud following after.

"Yare, yare, it seems my child self fired the Ten Year Bazooka again. Yo, young Vongola Tenth," waved Adult Lambo, who was attired in a ridiculous pastel blue knitted vest with lambs embroidered across it.

"A-Adult Lambo?" Tsuna gaped. "What are you wearing?"

"Hahi, it's the pervert!" screamed Haru, running out of the room. "And he's wearing something strange!"

The older Lambo looked down, as if he was just noticing his clothing. "Ah, I was helping Aki-san out with her knitting. She wanted to see how it would look on a human, and I offered since she was baking cookies."

"The Adult Aki? Who is she knitting it for?" Tsuna wondered who it could _possibly _be for; that shade of blue just wasn't manly.

"Oh, it's for her son," replied the Adult Lambo casually, picking off some lint that had stuck onto the yarn. Tsuna's eyes bulged out in surprise.

"H-h-her SON?!" he yelped, surprised. Reborn kicked him for his wimpiness.

"It's called mating, No-Good Tsuna. But I suppose you can't understand that, since you can't even confess to Kyoko properly," said Reborn, a patronizing smirk on his lips.

Tsuna blushed a deep red at Reborn's way of referring to _that_. "Wait, does that mean Aki is married, Lambo?"

Lambo looked up, "Of course, she's married. There were a lot of unhappy guys at her wedding, you know." Before Tsuna could drill him anymore, he was looking at the five year old Lambo again.

"Tsuna," he whined. "I want takoyaki! Lambo-san wants takoyaki _now_." Haru crept back into the room, settling herself across the table from Tsuna. Whenever she saw Adult Lambo, she always remembered how pervy he was and had run away to the kitchen to help Bianchi.

"So what do you think, Tsuna-san?" Haru looked at her shell-shocked crush. "Ah, did something happen?"

"You could say that," stammered Tsuna, remembering Haru's words before Lambo had shot the bazooka. "A party sounds really nice, thanks Haru."

"Haru is happy to be of service! Haru is going to Kyoko's house to go plan. Bye, Tsuna-san," Haru smiled, gathering her things before dashing out.

"Tsu-kun," Nana called up the stairs. "Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun are here."

Gokudera pounded up the stairs, eagerly, flinging the door to Tsuna's room open. "Tenth! Your right hand man has arrived." Noticing his red face, he worriedly asked, "Do you have a fever, Tenth? I can go get some water for you, if you'd like."

"It's alright, Gokudera-kun," reassured Tsuna, trying to focus on his disrupted math homework, the words "mating" echoing in his mind.

"Haha, Tsuna, want to do homework together?" Yamamoto looked at the problem that Tsuna was having trouble with. "I couldn't get this one either."

Gokudera glared at Yamamoto's friendliness with the Tenth, "Yamamoto, you can go hang out with that stupid girl. I can help the Tenth more than you can."

"Mah, mah, Gokudera-kun, it's more fun if we do it together," replied Yamamoto, smiling as usual. Reborn watched each of them carefully from his spot on the bed, thinking about a way to train the new addition to Tsuna's family.

* * *

"So you're the Vice-Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee?" asked Aki, rocking slightly on the swing that she was sitting on, chewing a chocolate. "Does that mean you're friends with um…that Hibari person?"

Kusakabe reached for another chocolate from the box, the swing he was sitting on stirred slightly. "I wouldn't call Kyou-san a _friend_, exactly. He's like a cloud that drifts alone in solitude."

Aki tilted her head, "That was pretty poetic, Tetsuya-san. Say, do you happen to know where these chocolates came from?"

Kusakabe looked at the girl, surprised, "Tetsuya-san?" He regained his composure, answering her question. "Yeah, Dino gave Kyou-san these chocolates this morning, but Kyou-san didn't want them. I thought it was a waste, so I came back to get them."

She grinned, "You can call me Aki, if you want. Friends call friends by their names, don't they? So Dino knows Hibari-sempai? That's a surprise. How do they know each other?"

"About that, well, Dino trained Kyou-san for a while. I believe it has something to do with your cousin." He bit into the chocolate, his teeth sinking into its gooey awesomeness. "Aki-san, thanks for sharing the chocolates with me."

"Not a problem. I'm glad I found another person who appreciates chocolate enough to dig the box out of the trash," she laughed. "I got to go now, so you can keep the whole box. See you in school, Tetsuya-san," she hopped off the swing, handing the fancy box to the Vice-Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. "I'm glad I made another friend too."

Kusakabe Tetsuya watched silently as the transfer student skipped away, swinging her keys around her arm. He closed the box of chocolates and decided that he'd eat the rest at home.

* * *

"Welcome home, Aki-chan," Dino smiled, sitting backwards on a chair while Romario cooked pasta on the stove.

"Dino! How'd you get into my house?" Aki glanced at the keys in her hands, as if to double check that she had brought them.

"You might have brought your keys, but you forgot to actually _lock_ the door on your way out," chuckled Dino, getting up to retrieve a drink from the fridge.

"Wait a second, where did all of this food come from?" She dashed to the fridge to see it overflowing with food. There was even ice-cream! Her heart soared.

"I heard you weren't eating properly. Knowing you, you probably didn't want to spend any of the money your parents gave you, right? So I went out and bought you some groceries."

The girl just glared at her benefactor and went to drool over the delicious food Romario was preparing. "Don't act like you know me so well, Dino."

"But I do," said Dino, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You know, Tsuna and everyone are throwing you a party."

That caught her attention. She whirled around to face her former mentor, a look of amazement on her face. "Really? They don't really need to go that far."

"How about I buy you some new clothes too? I looked upstairs, and your room was a mess. You haven't unpacked anything at all. From the wrinkles on your uniform, you probably slept in it. Let's go shopping this weekend, Aki-chan. I'll even buy you something new for the party," Dino suggested. Of course, she couldn't refuse the offer of free clothing. So she accepted.

"Fine. Saturday it is. Just know that I'm only going for the free clothes," she pouted, dipping a finger into the tomato sauce, licking it off slowly.

Dino chuckled happily, "It's a date then."

* * *

**A/N**: **Sorry for any OOC-ness...I don't really know Kusakabe that well. haha XD So yeah...I still don't have my HW finished and school's starting Wed...so no updates till probably the weekend? I wanted to write the party scene in this chapter...but I was like...NO. I MUST FINISH HW. T.T **

**So, don't forget. If you have any ideas, feel free to leave a review with that idea, or PM me! And the poll~~ =D**

**Thanks and enjoy! ^____^ Review if you liked it. Or review if you don't like it (as long as it's constructive criticism~~ XD) You people make Tune so happy! ^_____^**


	8. Party

**A/N: Sorry it took a bit longer to update! I was busy, but here it is~ Thanks to all the reviewers: 666 Hell Ring and EvilBoyzR2Cute! Don't forget to vote for the poll on my page, it'll help me progress in the story! Do tell me if you think Aki is too Mary-Sue (I hope not! ) and thank you for all your support.**

**666 Hell Ring gave me an idea for the omake at the end, so I hope you guys enjoy that too~ (It's actually quite long too ^^;;) Tell me what you guys think of the omake, not sure if I gave you guys what you wanted (couldn't quite imagine Yamamoto drunk...I might revise it one day if I get additional ideas XD) ****If I messed up any info on the drinks, don't blame me, I don't drink~ (and I'm underaged) XDD**

**I apologize if the fight scene is meh as well...I'll work on it!**

**Please review~ Reviews and constructive criticsm are welcome! It'll give me more motivation, hehe. Thanks for reading!  
**

* * *

"I'm going to bite you to death, herbivore." Hibari wielded his tonfas threateningly, glaring at the none too innocent Aki.

She tried to calm him, a small shiver of unease running down her back. "Hibari-sempai. Please calm down. I'll apologize if you like."

"I'd rather you fight me." He clanked his tonfas together, rushing at Aki, who readied her shurikens, really wishing she could be anywhere but there. How she hated pain, well at least when she was on the receiving end of it. So maybe Hibari didn't scare her in quite _that_ way but he was certainly scary.

_Aki had come onto the rooftop during the lunch break since it was a windy day and she secretly loved the feeling of her skirt ruffling around her knees. It felt like so much fun and the wind felt really good after being in the stuffy classroom all morning long. She had found Hibari stretched out, sleeping, with Hibird perched on his head. She could have left, knowing the rumors (mostly true) surrounding the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, but __**nooooooo**__, she had to stay and admire his bird. It was so cute and small, and squishy! She couldn't help but stare at its downy feathers, which meant staring at Hibari at the same time. He's pretty small for his age, she couldn't help noticing his tinyness compared to say, Dino, who still loomed over Aki like the freaking Hulk. _

"_Hey," she whispered to the bird. "What's your name?" She was pleasantly surprised when it started to sing "__**Midori tanabiku namimori no~**__!"_

_"Kya! You can sing the school song?" she squealed, scooping the bird off the top of Hibari's head. Luckily for her, Hibari was still asleep. "You're too cute. What's your name?" She awaited the bird's reply with anticipation, thrilled to pieces that the bird could sing __**the school song**__! Heck, she didn't even know it herself. _

_"__**Hibari. Hibari**__," it chirped, cozying itself in her hands. Aki giggled, the scary Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee had taught the bird to sing __**and**__ say his name? How mysteriously interesting, Hibari hated people but secretly loved animals!_

_"But what does Hibari-sempai call you? How about I give you my own special name?" She studied the little yellow bird for a moment before deciding with a wide grin. "I'm going to name you Namimori-chan! So I can call you Nami-chan or Mori-kun if I want, right?" The bird just blinked blankly at the girl and cheeped, "__**Hibari! Hibari**__!" _

_"No, no, no," she shook her head. "Aki! Aki! That's my name, not Hibari! Hibari! Hibari!" The girl gently placed the bird back onto Hibari's dozing head and laid down on her stomach, facing the bird. "Try it. 'Aki.' Ah-ki. Aki." __**I must have nothing better to do if I'm talking to a bird like it's going to answer me. Oh well, it's a cute bird, hehe.**_

_"Ri! Ri! Mi! Ki!" the bird twittered nonsensically. "Ki! Ki! Ki!" Excited by Hibird's progress in learning her name, Aki clapped her hands in delight. _

_"That's right! Just one more syllable. 'Ah-ki." Aki! Just a bit more, Nami-chan."_

_"Ki! Ki! Ki!" it chirped. "Aki! Ki! Ki! Aki! Ki! Ki! Aki!" _

_"Yay, Nami-chan, you did it! With just a little more practice, you'll get it all the time. You're a genius bird!" Aki praised the bird, stroking its feathery head with her forefinger. A sudden thought caused her to giggle. She wondered what happened if Nami-chan needed to go while it was on Hibari's head. The mental image of little pellets littering Hibari's hair was too amusing not to laugh at. _

_"What are you laughing at, herbivore?" Aki hadn't noticed Hibari stirring slightly or him opening his eyes to glare at her. He sat up, with Hibird still comfortably sitting on his head. "People who disturb my sleep, I bite to death." _

_Before she knew what she was doing, she poked him in the cheek and said, "I was laughing at the idea of Nami-chan leaving pellets in your hair. And I'm not a vegetarian. I like meat too, you know." She slapped a hand over her mouth in horror as she finished rambling. __**Did I really just say I was thinking about the bird leaving dung in his hair? He's going to bite me to death!**_

_"Nami-chan?" Hibari raised a brow at this. " It doesn't matter what excuse you make, you're going to have to pay the repercussions for waking me up." Hibari pulled himself elegantly upwards, pulling out his tonfas to challenge Aki, his eyes dark and irritated. _

And _that_ was how she ended up with an annoyed looking Hibari plus dangerous tonfas. Oh, that and a cute little birdie she named Namimori. Hibari swung at Aki's stomach with violent speed, which she blocked with her arms, wincing as they made contact. They exchanged hits in a flurry of tonfas and fists; well actually, Hibari fought while Aki blocked. Hibari was too fast for Aki to actually land a hit, so she could only defend, her arms bruising from taking the brunt of his attack. Aki threw a shuriken at his face, only to have his tonfa knock it from its course. _I change my mind! Hibari-sempai is really scary after all!_ _He's like a serial killer or something. That murderous glare of his is quite something! _

"This is getting boring. Let's end it now." After saying this in his usual monotone, Hibari swung his leg behind her knees, kicking her to the ground. Her eyes pricked with tears at the impact but before she could lift her arms to protect herself, Hibari pummeled her with his tonfas, like quicksilver. "Herbivores should just die." With that, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee walked away, his jacket fluttering in the breeze, with Hibird following him calling "_Defeat! Defeat_!"

_Damn, that hurt_. Aki checked herself for injuries, her arms covered in bruises, and she was afraid Hibari had broken her ribs, it _hurt_ so much. She groaned, winded from her "fight" with Hibari. Slowly standing up on weak legs, she chucked her shuriken over the fence in pained anger, forgetting the fact that they were pretty expensive because they were custom made, monogrammed with SA, and of course, they were cobalt blue. They hadn't helped her in the fight at all, the useless things. _That was completely one-sided. I didn't realize I was so weak_. _Or maybe Hibari's just the devil._ Aki wiped at the tears that hung at the edge of her eyes, hating her pathetic state. She hated how she always cried when she got hurt badly, it was annoyingly embarrassing. But most of all, she _hated_ pain. It hurt so damn much! So she did the thing she always did when this happened, she slid down against the fence and curled up and just tried to rock the pain away, the dry fire that blazed somewhere under her ribs raging on.

* * *

Tsuna looked around the classroom, noticing the absence of his cousin shortly after lunch break. It didn't bother him too much since she often went off to explore on her own. It was after the break ended and class had already gone on for an hour that he started to worry. Sensei seemed to have forgotten that he had a new student, it was only the second day after all. Sure, she may not participate in class, she had already learned everything, and she didn't really have any friends, but that wouldn't mean she would skip, would she? Maybe something had happened to her! Images of Aki taunting bullies and then engaging in fights flashed through Tsuna's mind. He shook his head in denial, although he knew it was probably the case.

"Sensei," said Tsuna, standing up, "Aki hasn't come back to class yet. Is it alright if I go look for her?" The teacher glared at Tsuna but just gave an annoyed nod. Kyoko gave Tsuna a worried glance before turning back to her work. Gokudera piped up saying that he was going with Tsuna. Sensei refused, saying that Aki was not Gokudera's problem. Gokudera followed Tsuna anyway, giving the teacher a thorough scowl and said "Any problem of the Tenth's is my problem as well."

"Where do you think Aki could be, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked, despite the obvious fact that Gokudera didn't care about her at all.

Gokudera shrugged. "I dunno. Where did she go last time for lunch? She might have been there again."

Tsuna smiled, Gokudera-kun was so smart! "You're right, Gokudera-kun! Aki went with Yamamoto to the roof before, so she might be on the roof, let's go check!" They dashed up the stairwell to the roof, bursting through the door.

"Aki-chan," called Tsuna, "are you up here?" Gokudera peered around, looking for the stupid girl who had made the Tenth all worried.

"Stupid girl, are you here? Answer the Tenth or you'll ge —" Gokudera tripped over Aki's shoes that were peeping out from her huddle. She seemed to be sleeping, tightly curled up, her arms around her drawn up knees. They couldn't see the blossoming bruises underneath her sleeves, and Hibari hadn't marked up her face.

"Aki! What were you doing, sleeping here?" exclaimed Tsuna in relief, glad to see she wasn't fighting anyone. "Class already started." When she didn't respond, he grabbed her arms and shook her a little, to which, Aki's head lolled to the side, her eyes still screwed shut. "Aki, wake up!" Tsuna shook her a bit more desperately.

"Tsu," her eyelids opened a bit, "na-nii. Let go please, you're hurting me." Tsuna stumbled back, letting her go. Suspicious, he rolled up her sleeves and gasped at the bleeding cuts and bruises. She had lined up some shurikens in her sleeve while fighting Hibari and he had slammed several of the sharp weapons into her flesh, and her arms were a mess. Aki fell back into a state of semi-consciousness, unable to handle the pain.

"We have to get you some help!" Tsuna tried positioning himself to carry Aki, but he just didn't have the arm strength to lift her. "Gokudera-kun, can you help me?"

Gokudera reluctantly complied, struggling to lift her. He grunted, "I'm not a jock and this girl is heavy. Yamamoto must have used all those stupid muscles of his yesterday. This girl is so much trouble!" Together, Tsuna and Gokudera managed to drag her to the doctor's office.

"Dr. Shamal, we need your help!" Shamal stepped from behind the curtain to see a panting Tsuna and Gokudera, carrying in-between them a bloodied and battered Aki.

"What happened to her? Anyone who beats up a girl is an enemy of mine!" exclaimed Shamal, gently placed her onto a cot, whipping out his cotton swabs and bandages. He shooed the two boys away, reassuring them that he would take care of her properly.

"Thanks, Dr. Shamal," Tsuna hung by the doorway, agonizing over how his cousin had been beat up. That was the worst state he had ever saw her been in, she was usually pretty good at fighting back. A faint thought crossed his mind, perhaps her opponent hadn't been an ordinary person at all. There were a few such people at Namimori, but none of them really beat up people for fun. Except for a certain Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee.

* * *

"You know, you look terrible today." Dino held up a pink dress to his body, then holding it out to Aki, he examined it. "How's this look?"

Aki moaned, "Of course I look terrible. I've got like a million bruises on my arms and I have a sprained wrist. Did I mention the horrific bruises from the chest down to my stomach? And that dress is hideous!" She snatched the dress with her left hand, throwing it onto the rack. "Who in their right mind would wear a dress _that_ shade of pink? It's hot pink!"

Dino sighed, pulling out a soft blue shirtwaist dress, then thrust it at Aki. "These should match your eyes. Try it on, please?" Hours of shopping was taking its toll on Dino, who had to carry all the bags and Romario wasn't there to help out when he tripped down the stairs with all Aki's purchases. "You didn't even dress cute today, even when I said it's a date."

Aki called out from the dressing room, "I didn't think you were being serious, it's just a shopping day, right?" Dino could hear Aki stumbling around, trying to avoid all the hangers on the floor. "It's so messy in here, I wish they'd clean it up."

"Well, it's not actually a _date_. I'm training you, Aki-chan, so you can use your feminine wiles for the good of the family. You know, seducing the enemy into give you information," joked Dino slightly. He waited to hear her indignant reply and was not disappointed.

"DINO! Are you kidding me?!" She stomped out of the dressing room, the top buttons still undone. "I can fight too, you know. I don't need to sink to such low levels. Besides, what do _you_ know about any of this stuff? Exactly _how_ many girlfriends have you had?"

"A few, but I _am_ older and more knowledgeable on this subject. Besides training you for the mafia, it'll be good to know this kind of stuff for when you date, right? I know for some unexplainable reason, you don't really like men, but I can see that you're warming up to some people here." Dino appraised her appearance, taking in the way the dress really brought out her eyes. "Not bad. So lesson one: when you go on a date, you have to dress nicely to impress the boy. Guys like it when you dress special just for him."

Aki bit her lip at the mention of Dino's past girlfriends, but just retorted huffily, "Who said I'm even interested in anyone? I'll kill someone before they can lay a hand on me. I'll wear whatever I want to wear, if someone really likes me, they'd better like how I look without all that fancy clothing."

Dino stepped closer to Aki, pulling her bruised and injured arms to show her. "So who touched you and got to live?" He slipped his fingers between hers, placing his palm on her wrist brace carefully, swinging his other arm around to hold her. "Dino-nii will go beat those guys up for you. Then I'll teach you how to seduce a guy so he won't hurt you. Sounds good?" Aki just knocked her forehead against his chest, her fingers tingling slightly, the skin on her neck prickling pleasantly from his touch.

"That stupid student of yours," she mumbled into his shirt, breathing in his scent happily. "Don't call yourself Dino-nii like that, it's so gross. And no need for that, I can beat up regular guys, but you can go beat that devil if you want. If you _can_ that is, he's crazy strong." Dino chuckled, running a hand through her long hair. If she was a cat, Aki would have purred with content. That happiness was disturbed when said hand holder tilted her face upwards with a question.

"Kyouya did? He can be violent like that." She nodded in answer and then returned to breathing in his shirt. Dino rubbed her head softly, laughing again. "I'm sure he doesn't have a grudge against you. He just hates people in general, I think. You know, I don't remember you being so soft like this. You're always insulting me in some way or another. He must have really got you good, huh?" Aki just nodded again, clutching the front of his shirt with her free hand, her other hand still warmly interlocked with his.

* * *

"It's EXTREMELY nice to meet you," roared Ryohei, enthusiastically pumping Aki's left hand up and down. "My name is Sasagawa Ryohei and my motto is EXTREME!" Ryohei noticed her slightly pained look and glanced down at the hand he was gripping, noticing for once, the cuts and bruises that graced her arms. He said cheerfully, "I can see you're an EXTREME fighter, come join the boxing club if you want!" Aki smiled politely, losing the feeling in her hand from his tight handshake. _Oh great, now I'm going to have two useless hands_. _I can't believe Kyoko-chan is related to this guy_.

"It's nice to meet you, Kyoko-chan's brother. My name is Sawada Aki and no, I'm not going to join the boxing club, sorry," she offered an apologetic courtesy smile before turning away to her cousin, wringing her numb hands.

"Tsuna-nii! Where did all these people come from? I don't know them at all. For example, who the heck are these two?" she gestured at a confused looking Adult I-Pin and a sleepy Adult Lambo.

"Yo, young Aki-san, you're looking beautiful as usual," complimented Adult Lambo. Aki cringed at the sight of him, with some of his shirt undone, scurrying behind Tsuna, and clutched his elbow with her free hand.

Adult I-Pin looked around in confusion at the party, "Sawada-san, Aki-san, where am I? I have to deliver the ramen to Uncle Kawahira or the noodles will get soggy!"

"Tsuna-nii, that guy isn't even _dressed_ properly, it's so —" she shuddered in distaste. "Who is he and can I kick him out? The girl at least looks nice, it seems like she brought free ramen."

Tsuna sighed; Lambo must have set off the Ten Year Bazooka when he was running to get the cake that Haru had brought. "This is Lambo, from ten years in the future. The girl is I-Pin from ten years in the future."

Aki eyed the cow shirt boy suspiciously; he didn't look like the Lambo she knew at all. "Prove to me you're Lambo." It was then that Bianchi entered the living room area with a poison cooking cake, that oozed with purple bugs and need I repeat, poison. She stopped when she saw Adult Lambo and then charged him, her face akin to an angry bull.

"ROMEO! Die now!" she punched the cake into his face, reducing Adult Lambo to tears, rubbing at the cake on his face. Aki giggled, finally believing it; who else but Lambo would cry so pathetically like that?

"I guess I'll have to believe you then, _Lambo-kun_. Really, that reaction was _so_ lame." She laughed again, touching the buttons on her dress lightly. Aki had decided to wear the dress Dino had picked out for her and had already received compliments from Nana, Kyoko, Haru, and Bianchi.

"It's nice to meet you, Aki-nee," said Fuuta, coming up to Aki. "My name is Fuuta de la Stella, also known as Ranking Fuuta."

Startled at the sudden appearance of yet another unknown person, Aki smiled at the little boy. "Hi Fuuta-kun. What does the "Ranking" of Ranking Fuuta stand for?"

Reborn swung over on a vine, in a Tarzan cosplay. "Fuuta ranks things, obviously." To Fuuta, he said, "Why don't you rank Aki to show her what I mean?"

Dino strolled over, with a cup of juice in hand. He suggested with a playful smile, "Why don't you rank the top three things Aki-chan loves?"

"Alright," confirmed Fuuta, the room's contents slowly levitating into the air. "Aki-nee's three most loved things. Third is —" Fuuta's eyes looked to the ceiling, as if contacting the Ranking Star, his voice trance-like. "—money."

Yamamoto laughed, tumbling in the air, "Haha, no wonder Aki-chan only has instant ramen at home." The party guests couldn't do anything but float and listen amusedly so it was quiet when Fuuta announced the second item off his list.

"Aki-nee's second most loved thing is her parents." Nana smiled at this, looking over gently at her own son.

"Aki-nee's first most loved thing is —" Fuuta paused, "Tsuna-nii." Abruptly, the gravity was returned to normal and everyone was dumped onto the ground. Five year old Lambo started crying when he landed on his head, with I-Pin patting his shoulders comfortingly.

Tsuna flushed at this revelation while Haru shook her head passionately in agreement. "It's so BEAUTIFUL desu! Cousinly love is so MAGICAL desu," she fangirled. "Aki-san really loves Tsuna-san, ne?"

The loved cousin in question tried to distract attention from himself. "Aki, why is money third? I thought you liked chocolate!"

"But you buy chocolate with money, duh," answered Aki with a knowing smile. _CRASH!_ Everyone could hear a loud ROAR that seemingly came from the bathroom.

"Dino, where's Enzo?" asked Reborn, sitting crossed leg on the table. Dino then made an _oh crap_ face as he raced towards the bathroom.

"It seems like Dino must have left Enzo in the bathroom when he went to wash his hands," smirked Reborn, taking a sip of tea.

Tsuna put his hands to his head in panic, "Reborn! What are we supposed to do? Enzo's going to destroy my house…again!"

"Relax, No-Good Tsuna. Romario went to go help Dino." Just as Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief, Reborn grinned. "Not. Romario went to go get more cake. He won't be back for awhile."

In the midst of it all, there was a familiar voice at the door, "Geez, what a mess. Reborn, this better be worth the money you're paying me!"

"Mammon!" Tsuna and the rest of the Guardians tensed, shocked at the appearance of the illusionist of the Varia.

**

* * *

**

**[OMAKE]**

[Five Years Later: April 24th]

"Where are we going?" Yamamoto stumbled slightly as he was led into somewhere even darker than before. He couldn't even tell who was tugging him along, no, that was a lie, he knew it was Aki. He recognized her small hands and pushy ways. But with a blindfold on, it was impossible to tell. Yamamoto had just finished the day's classes when a dark limo had pulled up at the entrance of the school and two men in suits he didn't recognize tied a blindfold around his head, and shoved him in the car. It had all happened so incredibly fast, that he hadn't had time to pull out Shigure Kintoki, and the whole time he was in the car, he was cursing himself for his idiocy. Thoughts like what would happen if these men used him as a hostage to get to Tsuna? He'd never forgive himself. They finally stopped and familiar, teasing hands had grasped him and here he was.

Finally the creak of a door opening, and then…his ears were nearly blast off with Haru and Ryohei's EXTREME rendition of "Haru Yo Koi."

"HARUyooooooo tooki HARUyo, mabuta tojireba sokoniiii," belted Haru, loudening at the "Haru" parts.

"AIOOOOO KURESHI KIMI NO, NATSUKASHIKI KOEGA SURU!" sang-shouted Ryohei, waving his arm in motion with the beat. Aki slipped off Yamamoto's blindfold, pleased that her plan had worked, yet again. Now to put plan B into action.

"Surprise, Takeshi!" she spread her arms in a wide gesture around the room. "We planned a surprise party for you. It'll be fun; we have food, _drinks_, cake, and FUN!" He laughed at her outburst of enthusiasm, looking around at who else had attended. There was Tsuna in the corner, covering his ears at the combined EXTREME singing; Gokudera looking pissed in the same corner, also with his ears covered; Kurokawa was sitting on a couch, sipping red wine while reading a book, headphones covering her ears; Kyoko was dutifully sitting next to Hana, filming her friend and brother, smiling brightly; Chrome was sitting shyly next to Kyoko, fidgeting slightly while humming under her breath; and Basil was studying the song lists, furrowing his brows at some kanji and looking relieved at the katakana.

"Hey, Aki-chan, who were those guys in black before?" asked Yamamoto waving at everyone before taking a seat next to Basil.

"Those were my men," answered Dino, stepping into the room with a tray of bottles. "Aki-chan, I brought the drinks you ordered. I hope these are enough."

Aki beamed, everything was working according to her plan. "Hey, Takeshi-uma, why don't you have some? Dino bought some juice for us, go ahead and try some!"

Yamamoto agreed; after all, he wasn't surprised Dino had bought the drinks while Aki had ordered them; she was still stingy as ever. At least she hadn't made him pay for the drinks himself. He took a sip, surprised at how strong the "juice" tasted. Dino laughed at his reaction.

"That's limoncello. It isn't too bad, if you like sweet drinks; just try to drink it slowly," he recommended, uncorking a bottle of Merlot and pouring it into a fluted wineglass. "I had Romario fly in a couple types of drinks for you from Italy. Aki told me you wanted to try all kinds, so drink up!"

Looking up from the huge songbook in his lap, Basil enthusiastically reached for a bottle himself, commenting as usual, on his Master's teachings, "Master said to try some shochu while I was in Japan, so I will now partake!" At the same time, Aki poured herself some limoncello, settling herself next to the still drinking Yamamoto.

"How is it? How do you feel?" she asked him eagerly, downing her drink a bit too quickly in her excitement and tendency to eat things too fast.

Tsuna rushed over, snatching the drinks from Aki and Basil while giving them a reproachful glance. "Aki, Basil, you guys aren't twenty yet, so no drinking for you two!" Surprised, Yamamoto looked at his friend.

"Relax, Tsuna. It's just juice, right? Let them drink it; this actually tastes pretty good," grinned Yamamoto, finishing the contents of his glass, his cheeks starting to turn rosy. "Dino, can I have some more?"

Tsuna sighed inwardly at Yamamoto's usual cluelessness, holding the two glasses awkwardly. Gentlemanly as usual, Dino poured some more limoncello into Yamamoto's glass. He took the cups from Tsuna's strained fingers, but before he could set them down, Aki snatched her drink with a smile.

"Tsuna-nii, you should know, in Italy, there is no drinking age."

"That's right, Sawada-dono," inputted Basil, taking back his drink as well, "so please feel free to drink as well, since we are gathered here to celebrate Yamamoto-dono's commemorative 20th birthday."

Vongola X groaned inwardly again; sure that was great and all, but they were in _Japan_ right now, not freaking Italy. Ever aware of his boss's needs, Gokudera crept over, leading Tsuna to another sofa across the room, massaging his shoulders. Why did that stupid girl have to drag the Tenth to the stupid baseball freak's "surprise" birthday party? They had important work to do, which most certainly did _not_ involve lounging around, singing karaoke, and drinking alcoholic beverages.

"Mah, mah, Tsuna, Gokudera. Don't look so stressed. Aki and Dino went so far as to throw a party so you two might as well enjoy it," laughed Yamamoto, the words slipping loosely out. The song had ended and Haru bounced over happily, congratulating Yamamoto and pouring him even more limoncello, while Ryohei and Basil enthusiastically handed out drinks to everyone, which meant _everyone_, even the underaged. And let's not forget about Ryohei and Yamamoto's competition to see who could drink the most the _fastest_.

**[THREE HOURS LATER]**

"You are my soul! Soul! Itsumo sugo soba ni aru, yuzu renai yo, daremo jama dekinai," slurred Yamamoto with a flushed Gokudera hanging onto his shoulders. Aki stumbled drunkenly over a KO-ed Dino, who was slumped on the ground.

"You're ssssssoooooooooo useless D-D-Dino," she singsonged, while kicking him in the legs. "Why'd you fall asleep? Ahhh right, you're drunk too." She staggered over to the singing duo, trying to avoid the knocked out Tsuna, Kyoko, and Chrome. Hana was still on the couch, reading her book, frowning slightly at Yamamoto and Gokudera's off-key singing. Ryohei's head rested in her lap, drunkenly clutching her hand and moaning loudly, "Kyoko, Hana. Wet's go sakuwa washing TO THE EXTWEME!"

Basil, surprisingly, was still sipping his shochu calmly while flipping through the books to see which song to sing next. He had gotten so excited singing enka that he hadn't had too much alcohol. Haru sat next to him, devouring the remains of the cake, chewing loudly, and then gulped down the rest of the lemonade. Or what she thought was lemonade. Like Basil, she had been too caught up in karaoking to drink much, enthusiastically picking out all the love songs to sing, so she could serenade her Tsuna-san. Too bad for her, Tsuna was force-fed one shot of tequila and was _out_, along with Kyoko and Chrome. He had gone down, mumbling, "Nooooooooooooooooo, I'm not twenty yet!"

"Takeshi-uma," giggled Aki, slinging an arm around Yamamoto's neck, shoving Gokudera out of the way, whom promptly fell straight to the ground on weak legs. She whispered into his ear, "Sooooo, tell me what happened five years ago in my room that first time. What did I _doooooooooooooo_?" Yamamoto turned his head to her quizzically, his mouth brushing her cheek.

His eyes glazed, he spoke slowly, forcing the syllables out, his tongue feeling swollen, "Nuh-thing Ah-ki."

Aki's eyes narrowed reflexively at his answer, her mind muddled. "Then why were you all red? AKI CAN ALWAYS TELL when someone is HIDING something!" She screamed that last part, bordering on drunken tears, hanging onto the front of his shirt. More quietly, she mumbled sadly, "It's something bad, isn't it? Takeshi-uma can't even tell me after five years."

Blushing, he recalled the scene from five years ago, it was the first time he had seen what he dubbed her "cute side." When tears started rolling down her face onto his shirt, he grabbed her tightly.

"So-rry, Ah-ki. Shhhh," he whispered, for some reason, tears made their way into his eyes as well as he held the sobbing Aki gently, whispering to her what she had done that had made him fall just a bit in love with her.

* * *

Dino looked up from his paperwork at the buzzing from his cellphone. He took a look at the screen, putting two fingers to his temples as if it would calm his rampant hangover. But he smiled, despite himself.

The text read:

**PLAN B SUCCESS! ;) Thanks for the free drinks, it was sweet~**

**-Aki**

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for any OOC-ness~ Hope you enjoyed! Any ideas and comments are welcomed, and don't forget to vote for which weapon you think Aki should wield; the poll is on my profile. And don't forget *nudges at review button* hehe thanks again for reading~~ ^______^ Sorry if this chapter is a bit rushed/AN rushed since I was being yelled at to go to bed ^^;;**


	9. Mammon's Test

**A/N: Sorry this update took so long! I kinda of lost motivation due to lack of response (reviews) ^^;; and then I had to study for APs, and now I'm back! I'm sick though . and it feels horrible. I was going to write more, but I'll put this up for now and get the next chapter done. Thank you EvilBoyzR2Cute, Taylor Knight, and 666 Hell Ring for reviewing! it means a lot to me =) I'm sorry if this chapter is kind of bleh , since I started it after the last chapter but didn't finish it until a few weeks later.**

**Promotion time: Please do check out my new fic (it's nextgen) A Thousand Flowers and tell me what you think, it'd mean the world to me if you could review too! Since I have a lot of ideas for that one =)**

**Hope you guys enjoy this! If you like it, or tell me what you think, please do leave a review (it motivates me!) or leave constructive criticism. Thanks! Because reviewers make the world go round and updates fast XDD (I was so excited about my first ch. reviews for ATF that I went kind of crazy and updated in a day...which is a huge feat for me. XDD) So do read and review! Thanks and enjoy~~ =) **

* * *

"Well," said Mammon, picking up a slice of cake, digging into it, "what did you want me to do, Reborn? And where's my payment? I don't work for free, you know."

"Try your illusions on Aki," pointed Reborn at the wide-eyed girl, who was gaping at the apparently floating baby. "Assess her abilities."

"First of all, where's my pay?" asked Mammon with a calculating glint in his eye, licking at the frosting on his face. "I've already said I don't like working for free, Reborn."

"Dino can pay for Aki. He seems to be her benefactor for now," replied Reborn, shooting a smirk in Dino's direction, who blanched slightly under Reborn's gaze. Mammon gave a satisfied smile, nibbling the blue icing.

"You can transfer it into my account later," said Mammon to Dino, with a condescending wave of his plastic fork. Dino sighed and nodded, there was no arguing with Reborn. Wait, when did Dino get there? Reborn as if sensing Tsuna's thoughts, smirked and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Romario strode in, dusty with pieces of ceramics stuck to his suit, carrying a bag of pastries. Apparently, Romario had heard Dino's yelps as he whipped himself trying to stop Enzo and rushed through the bathroom window to aid his boss. Mammon annoyed with how this encounter was dragging out, turned to Aki, examining her with disapproval.

"You give me this kind of weak specimen to work with? No matter, this'll be over in seconds." Within a moment, the room was filled with floating Mammons, all of them eating cake.

Aki goggled at the sight, but maintained her calm. Yes, there were now about a hundred floating babies eating cake. But they couldn't be real; after all, Reborn had said "illusions" before, so there could only be _one_ baby with an indigo pacifier. Pacifier. The baby named Mammon's pacifier resembled Reborn's pacifier. Which meant Mammon was not a baby to be underestimated. Mammon interrupted her frantic thought process with an impatient sound.

"I don't have all day. You have to figure out which one is the real me." Aki regretted throwing away her shuriken now; they could have helped her in finding the real Mammon. Tentatively, she poked through one of the illusionary Mammons, only to have her finger go right through. They all looked the same, there had to be a faster and more efficient way to go about this. Everyone in the room was staring at her curiously now, and it made her uneasy.

"It must be a magic trick," exclaimed Haru, hopping up and down. "It's really amazing!"

"Tsuna-kun is really thoughtful; he even brought a magician to Aki-chan's party," smiled Kyoko, holding Lambo and I-pin in her arms.

Aki closed her eyes, so she wouldn't have to see the way everyone _stared_ like she was an animal or something. _Think_, _there has to be something I can do._ She could feel the presence of Tsuna to her left, a warmness that was imprinted in her mind as an orange flame. Slightly to her right was Reborn, a strong yellow flame. Where was Dino? It was then that she noticed the sheepishly big orange flame by the door. Slowly, she identified everyone with their colored flames, making out who was standing where. Takeshi-uma was the cheerful blue flame next to Gokudera-kun's passionate red flame and somewhere in the room was Ryohei's EXTREME yellow flame and Lambo's shaking green flame.

Then the indigo flame must be Mammon. She noticed a red flame in the distance, far away. Maybe it was a mishap of her sense. She had already accounted for everyone; there couldn't be an extra flame, it might be some person walking their dog. The flames were bizarrely beautiful, Aki didn't understand _exactly_ what they were, but she had a small grasp of it. The girl opened her eyes, surprised to see the flames weren't there anymore. She closed them again, the vibrant colors of the flames appearing before her again. So she couldn't see them with her eyes open, huh?

She rushed towards the indigo flame, her arms outstretched to grab him. Only, she didn't account for tripping over Tsuna's foot, and having the floor rush at her. Like a person drowning, she flailed her arms wildly, bringing Mammon down with her.

"Oof." Aki sat up, squishing the Mist Arcobaleno, who grunted angrily, bending his snake back into a halo. She smiled sheepishly at the illusionist and got off him, holding one of the strongest infants in the world in her hands.

"How'd I do, Mammon-kun? I found you!" Aki squeezed Mammon slightly, happy in having succeeded.

"You p-passed…for now," choked out Mammon, irritated. "Now let go of me, I c-can't breathe." Aki dropped her hands to her sides immediately, having just noticed Mammon's snake who hissed at her.

"Ushishishi. Impressive, you found Mammon even with your eyes closed and you couldn't see the illusions. But how good are you with knives?" The prince of the Varia stepped into the door, holding ten knives between his fingers. Aki glanced up at Bel's voice, freezing at the sight of a stranger wearing a tiara in the doorway.

"Who are you?" she asked, balling her hands into fists. Tsuna looked on with horror, why exactly were the Varia members appearing one by one?

"The knife bastard," growled Gokudera, reaching into his pockets for dynamites, but he had left his cigarettes at home, considering the fact the Tenth had begged him not to smoke at Aki's party (she would have kicked him out).

"He's known as 'Prince the Ripper,' and his name is Belphegor of the Varia, just like me." Mammon floated over to Bel, pointing out that he was late.

"Too bad Mammon, I got distracted," smirked Bel, stroking his thumb over the steel blades with glee. "Shall I get started now?" Aki started to sweat lightly; she really wished she had her shuriken now. Illusions couldn't hurt if you knew they weren't real. But knives were going to hurt.

"W-what's with that tiara?" Most of all, with a fight indoors, it was inevitable that someone could get hurt, and she just couldn't risk having Tsuna-nii or Aunt Nana getting hurt. "It's so girly. You have a lame haircut too." Aki stood in front of Tsuna, her face pale, drawn into a strained taunt.

"Ah, fighting words from a midget, how scary." Bel laughed, a cold, sarcastic giggle.

"Don't call me midget, pipsqueak." Licking her dry lips, Aki tried to hold in the desire to flee, but this guy was creepy as hell. "You're almost as short as me." So maybe that wasn't true, but she need to get him out of the house as fast as possible, why wasn't anyone doing anything?

"Aki-chan, is this an acquaintance of yours?" asked Kyoko, clueless as usual.

"Hahi! He looks dangerous," squeaked Haru, pulling Kyoko back a bit. "Let's go get some more cake, Kyoko-chan."

The female Sasagawa smiled and followed Haru into the kitchen. Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief, at least Kyoko-chan would be safe if Bel tried anything.

The prince stepped towards Aki, grinning manically, "I can't wait for the _blood_, and it's going to be _delightful_." The girl's breathing hitched, feeling nausea at his words. Her head pounded, as if someone was slamming a hammer into it.

"No, don't come near me," she whispered weakly, putting her thumbs to her temples. Aki closed her eyes, to block out the vision of his sharp teeth. Before she blacked out, she sighed, "It's red." For once, Dino was actually useful, catching Aki as her legs gave out. He scooped her up and placed her onto the Sawada couch with care, feeling a sense of déja vu.

"Aki-chan, are you feeling alright?" Dino put a cool hand to her forehead. "She doesn't seem to have a fever or anything, just passed out. She should be conscious soon."

"Mammon, come back some other time," ordered Reborn, taking in Aki's condition.

"That costs extra, Reborn! Bel, let's go get some sushi," said Mammon, floating impatiently.

"Ushishishi, you're paying, Mammon," laughed the prince. "We're going to stuff ourselves, because these idiots are paying, ahahahaha. Especially that weakling, she fainted before we could even fight."

The strange duo from the Varia left to go to Take Sushi while Bianchi had her own way of helping.

"I can make something for her to feel better," offered Bianchi with a smile. "It'll be my own special concoction."

Tsuna vehemently opposed this idea; it'd have the opposite effect if Bianchi fed Aki Poison Cooking. Gokudera actually seemed eager for someone to be the victim of Bianchi's Poison Cooking for once, but ran to the bathroom as soon as he saw his aneki's face, shouting his apologies to Tsuna.

Lambo picked his nose and ran over, "Lambo wants to play with Aki! Is she sleeping? Aki is so boring! Lambo-san wants to play!" I-pin chastised Lambo, trying to stop him from disturbing the girl, but Lambo just pushed on ahead, tripping over a plate of unfinished cake that I-pin had been eating.

"Lambo, that's my cake! Stepping on it is no good!" I-pin rushed over, pulling the flattened plate out, smacking Lambo with it angrily. No one realized that the Ten Year Bazooka had fired as Lambo tripped until the _boom_ and pink smoke.

"Lambo," coughed Tsuna. "Did you just fire the Ten Year Bazooka?"

The young hitman just sat on the floor, fighting I-pin over the squashed cake. "Lambo-san didn't do anything!"

"Eh, if Lambo is still here, then who got fired into the Ten Year Bazooka?" Tsuna glanced at the couch, yelping in surprise at the now empty space where Aki had been. "Don't tell me, Aki got hit by it? If no one shows up, what does that mean, Reborn?"

"It usually means that person doesn't exist in the future," replied Reborn darkly, tipping his hat.

"EH?! Does that mean Aki is d-d-d_ead_ in the future?" Tsuna asked frantically, throwing his hands in the air with shock.

"I suppose so," said Reborn. Before Tsuna could worry some more, Reborn added, "But don't worry, the future Aki properly came here." Before Tsuna could react, Leon transformed into a whip, which Reborn shot at seemingly empty space. He sent the Leon whip out again, and again, all over the living room, a small frown on his face.

"Oi, Reborn, that's dangerous! What are you doing?" yelped Tsuna, trying to dodge Reborn's strikes.

"So you've gotten faster in ten years, Aki," smirked Reborn, his Leon whip latching onto something near Dino. "But not fast enough." There was a loud audible thump before an invisible force sent the Leon whip flying back at Reborn.

"Ow, harsh as ever, Reborn," came a woman's voice, seemingly coming from no where. "You didn't have to fling me down with such force."

"Future Aki?!" Tsuna looked around. "Where are you? Reborn, how did you know she was there?"

"I felt the air current as she was trying to run away," explained Reborn, kicking Tsuna in the head. "She's right there." The Arcobaleno pointed to a shimmery patch of air and Tsuna could just make out a faint outline of a person.

"EH?! What is that?" squeaked Tsuna, backing away. "A ghost?"

"No, just invisibility equipment that I was testing out for Giannini." The floating voice chuckled and Tsuna felt the presence of the invisible Aki drawing closer. Tsuna tensed, his hyper intuition kicking in, waiting for something to happen.

"Ahhhh, Tsuna-nii was so much cuter when he was younger," squealed Future Aki, her arms enveloping her smaller past cousin, her chin resting in his hair. "You were so much softer back than too!"

"Hiiii," screamed Tsuna, suddenly constricted by an invisible force, which sent Gokudera flying in from the bathroom.

"Tenth! I heard about the ghost, I'll exorcise it immediately." Gokudera started chanting, his hands clasped as if praying, holding an ofuda* between them.

"Stupidly funny as usual, Gokudera-kun. You can try all you want, but I'm not leaving Tsuna-nii," said Future Aki, her grip on Tsuna tightening. Tsuna blushed, realizing what exactly his back was pressed against and struggled to pull free.

"Future Aki, please let me go," pleaded Tsuna, still bright red, his arms flailing uselessly. The Adult Aki tittered and let go with an invisible smirk. Her eyes landed on Dino and she couldn't help it. She flung herself at his back and hung on, grinning wildly, although no one could see it.

"I can't believe it. I'm finally older than you for once, Dino. Mwhahahaha! I bet I'm stronger than you too." The Adult Aki grabbed the Cavallone boss's head in an attempt at a headlock while giggling triumphantly. She swung her legs around him, holding him in a vice-like grip with her thighs and it was then that Dino realized she was wearing heels, when her shoes rubbed harshly against his kneecaps.

"You haven't matured at all in ten years, Aki," chocked out Dino, turning red while trying to throw the woman off his back. "It hurts, what you're doing, can you get down?"

"Oh, it hurts? The future you can handle it though, since he's taller," laughed Adult Aki, climbing off her friend in one leap. "Sorry about that, I forget you guys aren't that strong yet."

"Where are you, spirit?" shouted Gokudera, looking around. "I thought I exorcised you!"

"Huh? Is someone here, Tsuna? I don't see anyone…" Yamamoto glanced around, confused. "Is this a new game? It's not an imaginary friend, is it? My neighbor used to have one of those."

"I think I can override Giannini's system with this, hold on a sec," said Aki, a slight shimmer next to Dino. In the next moment, a flame burst up and outlined a woman's figure. "That should have done the trick. You can sort of see me, right?"

"I can see you now," exclaimed Tsuna, surprised to see Adult Aki's outline. It was just a mass of purple, but it was the outline of a person. Ryohei looked at it confused, asking where the purple thing had come from and Lambo tried poking Adult Aki, but reflexively, she sent him flying into the wall.

"Sorry, Lambo-kun! That was a reflex; you're probably not too hurt though." Aki picked up Lambo, patting him soothingly on the head. "You look cuter when you were younger. You don't listen to me when I tell you things in the future, like buttoning up your shirt. And your grades suck. So make sure you do well in school, ok? On the other hand, I-pin-chan is just a wonderful girl." I-pin smiled at this, blushing slightly, but not activating the Pinzu Time Bomb.

"Dino, I like your hair like this much better too," grinned Aki, a purple outline of her hand ruffling his hair. "It's so much cuter like this. You try too hard with your new hairstyle. But I guess your wife likes it that way."

Dino startled, both at Aki's forwardness and the fact that he was going to be married. "Cute? Me? Wife? What?!"

"Ah, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Don't worry about anything, the future can change."

"What wife?" Dino asked persistently, his face flushed red.

"_Nothing_," she tugged on his hair, annoyed more at herself, than at Dino. "Forget I said anything. My time should be up soon anyway, right? By the way, when is this?"

"During your welcoming party," explained Tsuna, feeling awkward talking to a purple blob.

"Right. I'll have to beat up Bel later when I get back," said Aki, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "He's such a pest. He has nothing better to do than bother people, pfft." With a _boom_, the past Aki was back again, still unconscious on the couch.

"Eh? The regular Aki returned? Is she all right?" Tsuna checked his cousin's status, but it seemed that it hadn't changed in five minutes. Just as he was about to ask his mom what they should do, Aki started to stir.

"My head hurts, what just happened?" the girl sat up, her fingers at her temple. Tsuna and his Guardians glanced at each other and they decided not to say anything.

"You blacked out when that knife guy tried to get closer," said Tsuna, "is there anything you need, Aki?"

"Stop crowding around me! I'm feeling claustrophobic," shouted the girl, motioning for everyone to go and socialize. "I'd like some water, please."

"I'll get it," said Dino, getting up to go to the kitchen. Haru and Kyoko went with him to get cake for Aki to eat. Aki smirked to herself, yes, Dino, go fetch me water like a good servant. She turned to catch Yamamoto staring at her. Self-consciously, she put a hand to her face.

"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

Yamamoto grinned, "Yes. I mean, no. There's nothing there."

Paranoid about his indecisive answer, Aki scowled, patting her face suspiciously. "What do you mean? You just said there was something on my face, what was it?"

"It was just a smile," admitted Yamamoto sheepishly, red around the ears. "You just smiled."

"Huh? What's so great about a smile?" asked Aki, lost and thrown off by his answer. "You smile all the time."

"But your smiles are rare," teased Yamamoto, pinching her cheeks, trying to force a smile out of her.

"Stop it, uma, that _hurts_," complained the teenager. Tears pricked her eyes and Aki turned her head to bite his thumb angrily. Surprised, Yamamoto let go, but Aki kept her mouth securely around his finger, like a dog on a bone.

"Haha, are you drooling? I feel slobber all over my hand," laughed Yamamoto, still trying to pry his thumb from her teeth. Embarrassed, Aki released him from her bite, wiping her mouth free of spit.

"Sorry about that," she apologized angrily, "even if it was your fault first for pinching my cheeks." Aki took his hand and wiped her saliva off with the hem of her dress. _There goes my new dress; I suppose it's partially my fault_.

"It's alright, I'm sorry I pinched your cheeks. It was kind of impulsive," responded Yamamoto, smiling brightly. "Thanks for drying my hand off."

"Aki-chan, I brought you some water," said Dino, coming back from the kitchen with a glass of water. "Oh, what happened to your dress? It looks kind of wet on the bottom."

"N-n-nothing," stammered Aki, turning pink. "Thanks for the water, Dino."

"Kyoko and Haru want you in the kitchen, something about cake?"

Aki got up quickly, thanking Dino and dashed off to the kitchen, a look of relief on her face. Yamamoto smiled to himself; she was really cute when she blushed. Or when she was mad. Or when she was confused. Heck, she was always cute to him; he didn't mind being slobbered on by her, did he? Yamamoto paused in this thought process. Did that mean he liked her? It didn't take him long to admit that yes, he did like her. He didn't know how to explain it; she was interesting, but it wasn't only that. He wanted to know more about her, spend more time with her, care for her, make a lot more memories with her. Yamamoto just _wanted_ her. He grinned at this revelation, and patted himself mentally on the back for figuring out his feelings so soon.

* * *

"Aki-chan, are you alright?" asked Kyoko and Haru, both worried about their new friend. They held a plate of cake out to her, which she happily accepted.

"I'm fine, thanks for the cake," replied Aki, munching happily on the icing. "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"I just noticed, but you and Dino-san are very close," started Haru, "and that got Haru thinking, does Aki-chan have someone she likes?"

Aki's eyes bulged out as she choked on the icing. "N-n-no, I don't! At least, I don't think I like him, the person that I might like. Why do you ask?"

"So you do have someone you like?" asked Kyoko, uncharacteristically excited by this prospect.

"I don't know, maybe. Why?" asked Aki, her heart started to pound a little faster, thinking about him.

"Haru recently read in this article in non-no* and there was a section on how to get the guy of your dreams," explained Haru, "and I thought I'd share some of it with you."

"Uh, go ahead and tell me. I might need it in the future," said Aki, not looking directly at Haru. She chewed slowly on her food, her throat feeling dry.

"Really? That's great, Haru brought her copy of non-no with her today," smiled Haru, taking out a magazine from her purse. "Number one: Dress cute, or dress in a way that he'll notice you; Number two: act natural, don't be someone who's not the real you; Number three: to see if they like you, try to make them jealous; Number four: try to show your affection and see how they respond; and Number five: just try asking them out, and if they reject you, try again!"

"That was interesting," commented Kyoko, drying a plate.

"Oh, Kyoko-chan, you don't have to do that," said Aki, grabbing the plate from Kyoko and drying it herself. "You're a guest, I can do this."

"Alright then," said Kyoko, not wanting to upset Aki. "So what'd you think of the article, Aki-chan?"

"Haru thinks some of the tips are pretty good," inputted Haru, her eyes shining. "Maybe Haru will go shopping for some clothing tomorrow."

_That jealousy one could work_, thought Aki. _He has to go back soon. Now's my only chance. But who to ask?_

"Wait, I'll be right back," said Aki to the girls. "I'm just going to ask someone something, ok?"

"Sure," replied the two girls, exchanging sly glances.

_

* * *

_

Ah, there he is. He's the only one I can think of an excuse for,

smiled Aki mischievously.

"Hey, Gokudera-kun," said Aki, tapping the silver-haired boy on the shoulder. "Can you come with me to an exorcist shop tomorrow?"

* * *

***ofuda - one of the little slips of papers at temples (kind of like charms). You know, Sailor Moon, Rei has those white slips of paper? That's it! ^____^**

***non-no - A Japanese fashion magazine**

**A/N: Btw, what happened to the stars/dividers? Does FF not allow it anymore? Since I insert it in word, but it doesn't show up when I upload it here (it's annoying ). THE FORMATTING OF FF IS SO ANNOYING. WHY DOESN'T IT LET ME FIX MY STORY? So if you find some errors, it may be that I tried fixing them but then FF didn't save it/allow it. Oh well. Thanks again for reading! Tell me what you think! So here's a special corner to promote my other fanfic:**

* * *

**Joshima Ken: **Why am I here, byon!

**Tune**: Duh, to help me promote A Thousand Flowers!

**Joshima Ken: **Why would I want to do that? *angry face* Kong Channel!

**Tune**: Or I'll spill your secret to the world.

**Joshima Ken:** *falters* You mean _that_ secret?

**Tune: **Of course *smirks evilly* So are you going to help or not?

**Joshima Ken:** Fine *takes out Kong cartridge* What should I say?

**Tune:** Something entertaining? Mention your role in the fanfic!

**Joshima Ken**: What?! I'm going to be in it? Since when?

**Tune**: Well, yeah, you're going to be in chapter 3. I think...

**Joshima Ken**: What do you mean, I think?

**Tune:** Well, at least Mamoru-kun is going to be in it.

**Joshima Ken**: How do you know about Mamoru, byon?! You stalker!

**Tune: **I guess you'll just have to find out in A Thousand Flowers! Bye everyone~ Don't forget to review this story! ^____^

**Joshima Ken**: Wait, don't involve Mamoru with your stupid stories, byon!

* * *

**A/N: So I do hope everyone goes and read it! Please review~~ ^______^ **


	10. First Date Gone Wrong

**A/N: Really late update (like over a month) Sorry! I was working on my other fanfics...and end of the year school craziness _ This chapter may seem a bit scattered and different, just testing a different style. I was going to cut out the scene with Bel for the next chapter, but decided to include it here. Hope it's not too all over the place! And please excuse any OOC-ness. Constructive criticism/advice/and REVIEWS would be greatly appreciated! ^^**

**Promotion: If you're interested in KenXChrome, feel free to check out my one-shot Pineapple Band-Aids and if I-pinXFuuta sounds appealing, please do read Trampolines. Since the last time I've updated this fanfic, A Thousand Flowers has three chapters, and if you'd like to read nextgen, please do check it out (with apperances from the original cast as well XD). If you're interested in BasilOC (friendship), please do check out the prologue for "The Lost Sea." As I've mentioned before I do plan to have a fanfic for Kotone-chan! ^^**

**So please do enjoy and leave your thoughts and feedback! Please do warn me if Aki is getting too OOC (I hope she isn't )**

* * *

A jealous man does _not_ come to your house bright and early in the morning to help you pick out your outfit for your first date. And he does _not_ give you tips on how to impress the other guy. Aki seethed as she glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time. Gokudera was late, fifteen minutes had already passed and she had been hit on at least five times within that time period. If Dino wasn't even jealous, what was the point of going on a "date" with Gokudera?

_"D-D-Dino! What are you doing here?" The sleepy-eyed girl cracked open the door, annoyed. She blocked most of the entrance and made sure to give him an extra glare. "It's 7 am."_

_"I heard you were going on a date with Gokudera, so I came to help you out and give some advice!" responded the young boss cheerfully, giving her a thumbs-up. _

_"Help with what?" she asked, her face a tired scowl, letting the blond into her house reluctantly. "I'm sure you __**really**__ care that I'm going on a date."_

_"Of course I care! My cute little sister is finally growing up, hehe," smiled Dino warmly, giving her a high five. "Did you decide what you're going to wear?" _

_"Wear something nice, right?" Aki made a face and followed Dino into her room, still sparsely decorated. She threw open her closet to reveal the new clothes that she had bought (or rather, that Dino had bought her) still freshly pressed in their bags. The girl grabbed a few choices and threw it onto her bed. "Anything that might look good?"_

_Dino surveyed the mess of clothes and picked out a red tank top and a short denim skirt. He smiled confidently and held them out to the Aki, "I think these would look great on you."_

_Aki looked at the clothing doubtfully but realized that red was Gokudera's "color," so it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go with Dino's suggestions. "Let me go try these on." When Dino didn't move from his spot on her bed, she scowled and pointed at the door. "Out! I'm changing, you can't stay!"_

_The blond laughed sheepishly and held his hands up in surrender. He backed out of the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click. Dino leaned against the wall, chuckling softly when he heard Aki through the door, calling him "idiot Dino."_

_He waited a few minutes before the door swished open to reveal Aki in the outfit Dino had chosen. She had tied her hair up in a neat ponytail and plucked nervously at her spaghetti straps and the hem of her skirt. "This skirt is too short!"_

_"Fine, what about that black skirt over there," pointed Dino, to a longer and frillier skirt on the floor. Aki examined the skirt briefly before agreeing to try it on. When she stepped out a second time, Dino let out a low, appreciative whistle._

_"It looks good, Aki-chan," winked Dino, clapping his hands together. "Go and knock Gokudera's socks off." _

_"Meh, I'd rather not, because then his feet would smell," shrugged Aki, a playful smile shadowing her face._

So here Aki was, all dolled up and waiting for Gokudera, because Dino had _insisted_ upon it. When the silver-haired teen finally rounded the corner, she beamed and waved him over. Finally! Someone to keep away the nanpa-ers*! Her smile melted into a disapproving frown when she noticed the lazy cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Gokudera-kun, cigarettes are bad for your health and _my _health. Have you ever _heard _of second-hand smoking? And you're late! These boys by the train station keep pestering me. "

"Tch, like I care; don't forget that _you're_ the one who asked me to accompany you today. I could be with the Tenth right now if it wasn't for you," scowled Gokudera, taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing the smoke out in a puff of annoyance. "Let's get this over with." Maybe asking Gokudera wasn't the brightest idea. Someone nicer and who didn't smoke could have worked.

"But you're the expert on spirits and exorcism, I couldn't have asked anyone else," responded Aki tartly, reaching over to grasp the end of Gokudera's cigarette with strained fingers. She patted him over with her other hand and triumphantly pulled out his lighter. The girl crushed the cigarette under the heel of her boot and simultaneously shot the lighter into the nearby trash can.

"What the hell did you do that for?" yelled Gokudera, his face contorted with fury and annoyance. The boy grabbed her arm and glared into her eyes. "You don't take cigarettes from Gokudera Hayato."

"Just don't smoke when I'm around, got it? You could get Tsuna-nii sick too, you know," taunted Aki, sniffing disdainfully at the scent that clung to his clothes.

"The Tenth will…?" Tsuna's self-claimed right-hand man's head jolted up, alarm in his eyes. "He could? Because of me, the Tenth has kept silent about it? I'll t-try not to smoke near the Tenth again."

"There's a good boy; although it's not that easy quitting," she smiled, like talking to a spoiled child. "Let's go to Namimori Shrine first, we can go buy ofuda* there. Lead the way, Gokudera-kun!"

"Aren't you the one who invited me? How do you not know where we're going?"

She shrugged in response to this, giggling that he should just give her a break and be courteous for once. The boy thought about it, the faster he helped her, the faster he could ditch her. Gokudera brightened at this prospect and started walking down the crowded street.

"It's this way," snapped Gokudera, turning around briefly to tell Aki to catch up. He slouched and kept his hands in his pockets, keeping a fast pace, although Aki easily kept up with him. The girl frowned, this wasn't going the way she had imagined at all; she had hoped they'd have an enviable atmosphere around them, but at that point, if someone found them together they'd merely point and laugh.

She tugged at his sleeve, yanking really hard when he didn't stop. "Can you wait for a bit? I just saw something I'd like to investigate."

"Do it on your own time."

"It won't take long, I promise." Without looking to see if he waited, Aki ran across the street to the convenience store with a flyer in its window with the words [HELP WANTED] emblazoned across.

* * *

It was a slow morning at the local NamiMart and Chiyo was bored nearly out of her mind. The only alleviation to her boredom was recording her observations of her co-worker, Miyamoto Seiji, her classmate and one of the popular boys at school. It wasn't as if she liked him or anything. She liked to use it as bait for her friends and other girls who liked him. Chiyo could get them to do almost anything if she gave them some of her secret observations at work. Of course, she never disclosed where exactly in town she worked at.

"Miyamoto-kun, can you go see if we have a restock of the curry bento? It seems like it's been pretty popular recently," she asked sweetly, hiding her magazine and observation notepad beneath the counter.

Seiji looked up sleepily, yawning. He stretched his arms out and unplugged his ear buds, giving her the ok sign. He got up from his spot at the other cash register and headed to the back of the convenience store. Once she made sure that he was completely in the back storage room, Chiyo scurried over to his register and gingerly picked up his mp3 player, scrolling through his playlists and recording them in her [MIYAMOTO SEIJI OBSERVATIONS] notepad. She jumped when the door opened and a girl in a red tank top, leather vest, and black skirt walked in.

Stealthily, Chiyo slid Seiji's mp3 player back beneath his counter and approached the prospective customer. "Welcome to NamiMart, how may I help you?"

Aki glanced around at the empty store nervously and asked in a hesitant tone, "I saw a flyer in your window that said help wanted?"

"Oh, you're not a customer?" When Aki shook her head no, Chiyo dropped her friendly façade and pointed at her register. "I have some papers for you to fill out. It's not like we really need any new employees anyway, it's pretty slow around here."

"I think I could help attract new customers. What you guys need are more sales to entice people," said Aki, feeling a small flare of confidence, taking the forms that were given to her with her free hand. "It's a good marketing strategy, if I do say so myself."

"Huh? It's not like I call the shots here," scoffed Chiyo, stepping behind her register. "You're not really in that kind of position, you know. Read the papers, fill them out, and return them as soon as possible." She peered out the door to where Gokudera was leaning against the frame.

"Is that your boyfriend?" asked Chiyo, gesturing to the front of the store. He was pretty hot, concluded Chiyo, crossing her fingers that he was free.

Self-conscious, Aki whirled around to see where Chiyo was pointing. Her expression relaxed when she noted Gokudera waiting for her. "No, he's just a friend."

Chiyo eyed Aki's attire, "Do you always dress like that? No offense, but you looked like you're dressed for a date."

"It's kind of a date," confessed Aki, blushing as she clutched the papers tighter to her chest.

This sparked the older girl's interest. "Kind of? It's either a date or it's not."

Slowly backing away from Chiyo's aggressive look, Aki explained quickly, "H-h-he doesn't really know it's a date. It's supposed to _look_ like a date. It's really nothing. I'm just trying to make someone jealous."

To Aki's surprise, the NamiMart employee chuckled darkly, "Why, jealousy is my expertise. But more importantly, does that mean _he_ is free, no strings attached?"

"I suppose so. He seems to hate girls in general though." Aki's demeanor darkened when she had a sudden realization. "Ah damn, I shouldn't have asked Gokudera-kun to come with me, he would never go on a date with anyone. No one would be jealous of us since Gokudera-kun so obviously fawns over only Tsuna-nii. I should have asked Kyoko-chan's brother from yesterday."

For the first time, Chiyo seemed to notice the younger girl's wrist brace. She touched it hesitantly, with surprisingly gentle fingers. "Hey, how'd this happen? You're not one of those yankees* are you? We don't allow for those kinds of employees, you know."

Mentally, Aki rolled her eyes. The mafia was way worse than a bunch of local yankees. On the outside, she smiled politely and denied it, coming up with a quick lie. "I'm not associated with delinquents, please don't worry. I got this sprain from a…football game. I was trying to catch the ball when I tripped and sprained my wrist. It's healing nicely."

"Clumsy, huh? So that guy outside is free? Score!" Chiyo did a little dance but when Aki shot her a raised eyebrow, she coughed and smoothed the edge of her uniform. "You know, if the guy really likes you, he'd get overprotective if he sees you with other guys. That's one way to test his jealousy."

"If he gets overprotective, it's probably because he thinks of me as his little sister," muttered Aki, gritting her teeth in annoyance and nearly folding the edges of her forms.

"How old is he? Your crush, that is." Chiyo leaned forward, curious about this girl. She thought Aki was kind of cute, going through all this for a guy. Chiyo tried to remember the last time she had gotten riled up for a guy _for real_, probably her first year of middle school. Anyway, this girl was definitely a better distraction then that Miyamoto, whom she saw everyday at school.

"He's twenty-two," stated Aki, looking at her feet awkwardly.

Chiyo whistled, "You look like a middle schooler. I can tell, you don't wear make-up _at all_. And even if he liked you back, wouldn't that make him a pedophile? He could get arrested for going out with you." Seeing the wilted tilt of Aki's lips and quick blinking eyes, Chiyo hurried to say something. "But you never know, it could work out."

Aki lifted her eyes sharply, "Just say it. It's never going to happen. I don't want to feel this way about him. He's an idiot who trips over his own feet and disgustingly refers to himself as "Dino-nii," and did I mention he's an idiot? I'd feel much better if my feelings for him were sisterly. It's frustrating, really, _really_, frustrating."

The taller girl propped herself up on her elbows, smiling indulgently. "Are you done yet? Since we're on such a _personal_ topic, I'd like to introduce myself. I think we're going to be good friends. My name is Mochida Chiyo. I'm a first year at Seifuu Gakuen. It's a pleasure to meet you. And you can call me Chiyo, if you want."

Hesitantly, Aki bowed and introduced herself. "My name is Sawada Aki. I'm a second year at Namimori Middle School. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'd like to be friends with you, if you don't mind, that is."

"So I was right, you are a middle schooler," grinned Chiyo, snapping her fingers together. She reached over the counter to tug at Aki's ponytail playfully. "If you ever need anything, Chiyo-nee will be here for you, you cutie. Of course I'll be friends with you! Is it alright if I call you Aki-chan?"

Aki nodded happily, another female friend! That made three…which was much more than she'd ever had in her life. She squirmed slightly as she asked, "So, it's alright to call you Chiyo-chan? It's okay to call each other by name if we're friends, right?"

The older girl laughed and wiped away fake emotional tears, "That's so adorable! You're so innocent!" She came around the counter and pulled her into a hug. "Of course you can call me anything you want, as long as it's not an insult, haha." Immediately, Aki tensed, and inhaled sharply.

"What's wrong? You don't like hugs?" Chiyo asked, letting go of the smaller girl, a retort ready on her lips.

"No, it was just sudden, that's all," said Aki stiffly, pulling her arms closer to her body, like a turtle retreating back into its shell.

"Um, Mochida-san. We have full inventory, and I just remembered that the curry bento restock is coming Wednesday," said Seiji, locking the back storage room and walking the tense space back to his counter. He gave Aki a nod of acknowledgement as he settled onto his high stool.

"Ah, thanks. Hey, Miyamoto-kun, isn't she cute? She's going to be our future co-worker," squealed Chiyo, thrusting Aki in Seiji's direction, forgiving the girl she had deemed "fragile." The boy studied her face and Aki blanched under his studious gaze.

"Your eyes are blue," he commented in a casual tone, returning his attention back to his music. "Huh? That's weird, my playlist got switched."

Had he been listening to their conversation? She wouldn't have said anything if she knew that this boy had been hiding behind doors and eavesdropping.

"So what if they're blue?" Aki stalked up to him, her face a slab of icy rock, two blue flames flaring from her eye sockets. "You lousy eavesdropper."

"Did I say something wrong?" Seiji looked confused, a mouse trapped in the corner while the cat danced dangerously closer. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

"You don't listen to music when others speak to you. Show some respect. No wonder you can't get any customers." With her good wrist, Aki snapped Seiji's ear buds from his ears, dangling them around her neck as if it was silky scarf.

He stared longingly at his headphones and reached out to take them back but Aki slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me," she snapped, turning her back on him, flinging her ponytail in his face. She ducked her flushed face, her eyebrows knitted together above stormy eyes. "You heard everything didn't you? Don't bother denying it."

"I didn't hear anything; I didn't even know you were here. Mochida-san asked me to check on the storage in back. What you see isn't everything. There's another backroom behind that storage room. Please don't accuse me without evidence," replied Seiji calmly, his glossy professional persona sliding in place. He pulled a deck of cards from his jeans pocket and fanned them out in her face with his left hand. He reached over to pluck his ear buds from her neck with his right hand, while his cards distracted her. She twitched in anger at being diverted by something so simplistic but another distraction soon arrived.

"You idiot woman," yelled Gokudera, bursting into the store noisily. "What's taken so frickin' long? You've been in here for ten minutes already. I don't have all day; the Tenth is probably waiting for me!"

Aki giggled at how Tsuna always seemed to be on Gokudera's mind. "You miss Tsuna-nii already? How cute, Gokudera-kun. But don't you think you're being kind of clingy?" She glanced at Seiji, who was folding his cards back into his pockets and she felt the temptation to bare her teeth. Instead, she frowned and turned to give Chiyo a quick wave.

"I'll return these when I have time. Thank you for your help, Chiyo-ch-ch-chan," she said, stumbling over the informal suffix. "Let's get going Gokudera-kun."

"Oi! That's what I was saying to you," said Gokudera, his face the perfect sketch of frustrated irritation.

* * *

"Senpai, good morning," waved Yamamoto as he crossed paths with Ryohei in their neighborhood. "Are you doing some training too?"

"Yeah," grunted Ryohei, jogging in place as he chatted with his kohai. "Do you want to join me, Yamamoto? It'll be refreshing TO THE EXTREME!"

The baseball player laughed and shrugged, "Why not? Where were you heading?"

"I was going to jog near Namimori Shrine and then go past the school and then stop by the shopping district to go look at boxing gloves," grinned Ryohei, not breaking a sweat while his legs naturally quickened their pace.

"It sounds like a good route, senpai," laughed Yamamoto, fanning himself with his open palms. "Do you want to play baseball later?"

Ryohei's eyebrows dipped down like seesaws and Yamamoto couldn't help but chuckle at his odd facial expression. The boxer shrugged lightly, his face morphing into a broad grin, "I'm not so good at baseball, but I'd box, TO THE EXTREME!"

* * *

"We're here," called out Yamamoto to his senpai, indicating that they should slow down. The moment they had settled upon their route, their competitive spirit flared and both jocks had streaked through the streets like bullets.

"That was energizing," announced Ryohei, happily looking around the shrine, with just a lick of sweat rolling down his neck. Yamamoto agreed, it was nice having a jogging partner to pace with once in awhile.

"Argh, I hate stairs, they definitely defy gravity." A female voice floated up like the moon, waning gradually as it grew closer. Yamamoto's ear's perked up, he recognized this voice!

"Aki-chan!" Unconsciously, he had started walking toward her voice and was halted in his tracks when the top of her head slowly appeared at the top of the stairs like the sun rising from its bed beneath the sea.

"Takeshi? Kyoko-chan's brother?" Panting, she reached the last step and sat on it. Burying her head in her hands, she whimpered softly to herself, ignoring the two jocks despite having acknowledged then.

"It _is_ Aki-chan, right?" Yamamoto did a double take. He didn't quite recognize the girl on the stairs. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen her outside of her uniform, in addition to a different hairstyle.

"Of course it's Sawada," said Ryohei cheerfully, yanking Aki up by her wrist brace. "This is the proof that she should join the boxing club, look at her fighting spirit!"

"What are you saying, uma? Of course it's me," exhaled Aki noisily. Rotating on her axis, the wrist that Ryohei clutched, she kicked the boxer in the chest, loosening his grip on her wrist so that she could wiggle free. "Sasagawa-senpai, did you forget that MY WRIST IS SPRAINED?"

"Sorry about that," yelled Ryohei, scrunching his face up like a child. "That was an amazing kick, Sawada! You should join the boxing club; we could use your kind of spring, to the extreme!"

"I don't want to see it," said Aki, straightening her skirt and sat facing the stairs again, "all those sweaty upper torsos. It's not like I want to rip off my shirt and be punched either."

"Just come once and you'll see how fun it is!" Ryohei argued, pumping his fists in the air and yelling into her ear.

"Mah, mah, senpai, if she doesn't want to do it, then she doesn't want to do it," said Yamamoto, holding the boxer's hands down. Once he had calmed Ryohei down, Yamamoto tilted his head slightly, as if seeing her at a different angle would help.

"Huh? Aki-chan, you look different today. Did you get a haircut?"

"No, but just let me state my hatred for these boots, it's so hard to run in them. And have you never seen a ponytail before?" The girl sat down again, taking off a boot and rubbing the sole of her foot. "I don't understand why people wear this kind of footwear."

They gave her a strange look, because who else removes their shoes at a shrine? Yamamoto broke the awkward silence, "If you don't like them, you should wear something more comfortable."

"I know, but Dino told me to wear them," mumbled Aki, sighing as she stretched her legs and stuffed her foot back into her boot. "Sorry about that. Gokudera-kun should be catching up pretty soon."

"Octopus head? What were you doing with him?" asked Ryohei, his brows furrowed in confusion. Before she could respond to that uncomfortable question, Gokudera came clomping up the huge set of stairs.

"You stupid woman, you _did_ know where the shrine was, you don't need me at all," grumbled Gokudera, climbing up the stairs with clenched fists and a scowl. His inner monologue was moaning about his lost time with the Tenth.

"You're right, Gokudera-kun, I don't need you at all," she repeated, her fingers itching to grasp something. She had a sudden urge to lick a lollipop; maybe it'd look more taunting. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

The two jocks glanced at each other confusedly. Why would Gokudera be with Aki on a Sunday? Oddly enough, it was the box-headed boy who finally got it, his face a scarlet carpet showcasing his wide gray eyes. "N-N-N-N-NO WAY TO THE EXTREME!"

She plugged her fingers into her ears, hoping to drown out Ryohei. When that didn't work, she decided it was best to leave before too much confusion ensued. Using Gokudera hadn't been such a good idea she realized, they weren't a very believable couple together.

"I'm going home now. See you tomorrow." She winced when she stood on her feet but she was going home after all, she couldn't wait to start the next level of her game with the lava!

"You're going home already?" Yamamoto shot his hand out, halting the girl. Uncharacteristically embarrassed by his own reaction, he dropped his hold on her only to realize that the tip of her nose was at his mouth when normally only the top of her head reached his lips. He couldn't resist asking in surprised tone, "Did you grow taller, Aki-chan?"

"Where have you been?" Aki pinched his earlobe with the fierceness of a crab, tipping her head to look up at him. "I have heels on, you moron. Why do you think my feet hurt? I was running in heels, like an idiot."

"That's your own fault, you stupid woman," growled Gokudera, annoyed at being surrounded by not only Aki, but also the baseball freak and the stupid lawn-head. "I'm going home too; this was a waste of time."

"Ohhhh, that makes sense," laughed Yamamoto, patting her head gently, noting the short distance between them. "Well, you should come over soon; you wanted to meet Oyaji, right?"

"Your father? The one with the deep voice? Of course I want to meet him," she said excitedly, getting into a sumo position, wrestling with an imaginary opponent. "I bet he does this in his spare time, right?"

Ryohei laughed competitively and locked wrists with Aki, joining in on her play sumo. "I'll show you SAWADA! Boxing is the best!" She gave him a confused look and winced when he tugged on her wrist brace too hard. They wrangled as Aki tried to break his grip but the hot-headed boy kept his stance and refused to let go of her. It was the last rice grain chafing her irritation, especially since Sasagawa Ryohei seemed to be such a pig-headed jock. She brought her head down against his, smashing her skull against his thick head, and kicked him in the chest again.

"Really, I'm _never_ going to join the boxing club, so please save your breath." The girl stomped agitatedly away from the trio, her fingers itching to hold a controller or hit some buttons of some sort.

Yamamoto was left with a strange regret that he hadn't pressed his lips against the tip of her nose to see if it was as soft as he imagined it would be and Ryohei was as passionate as ever, overcoming his disappointment with a plan to continue on with his regimen, to show that BOXING WAS THE BEST!

* * *

"Ushishishi, I've found you," giggled Bel, perched atop a streetlamp, swinging one of his knives in a loop. "Shall we start your _test _now?"

The blood drained from Aki's face like water swirling down the sink. Bel laughed at her expression, as if she had seen a ghost.

"What's with that pathetic face? Let's start quickly, I'm bored," smirked Bel, launching a pointed knife at the girl's wrist brace. Her feet stuck like candy to the ground, and she watched like a passerby, as the blade struck the material covering her hand. There was a moment of fierce clarity at the center of the attack, numbing her already injured hand even further. Then it all dissipated into a mass of living pain.

"You're name was…Bel?" Paralyzed, Aki's mind dredged up the memory of Mammon saying "Bel, let's go get some sushi." Her words came out clipped and false, even to her own ears. She hid her hands behind her back, slowly backing away from him.

"I don't think you're in the position to talk," the prince sneered, flinging another short knife at the girl. She clumsily side-stepped despite the aching in her feet and ripped the knife out of her arm as if it were a band-aid. The girl winced slightly, quickly replacing it with a forced glare.

"Just leave me alone, _Bel_." Hoping that the knife would travel somewhat like a shuriken, she threw the knife back, aiming for his chest. The Varia genius merely sneered as he caught the targeting weapon and sent ten times the amount at the escaping girl. Hobbling on unsteady feet, she only managed to dodge half of them, unintentionally allowing the other half to slice her arms and legs. She cursed underneath her breath, something she rarely did, and couldn't help feel a whirlwind of panic rise to her throat at the stream of red sweeping down her skin. It felt like a horrible replay of the incident three years ago.

Scooping up the fallen knives, she dumped them into the purse that Dino had claimed completed her outfit. Her fingertips searched for anything that could delay her assailant but all she could feel were the teeth of a comb. Throwing it would give her no advantage, but it could prove to be a good distraction. She was really regretting throwing out Gokudera's lighter; she could have sent flaming lipstick or mascara stick at him.

"Why am I so stupid these days?" she screamed internally, cradling her wrist close to her body, the soles of her feet scuffing the ground as she raced into her neighborhood. Unfortunately, Bel was hot on her heels, peeling knives from his body as if they were extensions of his clothing.

"I do like a game of tag," snickered Bel, lifting the wired knives to his face and licking the cold steel with delight before throwing it at the retreating girl's back. Aki blocked all but two knives with her purse, giving her fresh wounds across the skin above her left knee and the soft flesh to the side of her throat.

"I prefer hide-and-seek," she retorted, ducking into a doghouse to catch her breath, hoping her princely chaser hadn't noticed. "I just need to get into my house and I should be fine." Aki bit her lip to stop the tears resulting from pain, since her wrist definitely needed to be treated again. Anyone seeing her casually in the street would wonder about the blood stains across her skirt and the blood clinging to her boots.

"Aki-chan?" Dino's face peered at her from the doghouse entrance. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. It was Dino, the idiot after all.

"Where were you?" she hissed, shrinking closer to the back wall. It was an unreasonable question, but there is no reason in pain. "How'd you know I was here? That Varia guy keeps following me."

"I remembered you didn't have a cell phone, so Romario gave me a GPS tracking device to slip into your purse this morning. I was worried about creepers who would be after you while you waited for Gokudera," replied Dino, brushing his fingers against the cut near her neck, rubbing the blood between his fingers cautiously. "Let's have Romario treat you."

"I don't want to go out there," she huddled in the corner, her voice a broken shout, crumpled like a tossed-out sheaf of paper. "Make _him_ go away, that's all I ask. I hate — hate hiding like I have no other options. Dino, can _you_ make me stronger?" Her eyes glared at him, daring him to take up her challenge.

The young boss's eyes darted behind him and he said in a low voice to someone behind him, "As I thought, she's being stubborn. She's probably in shock right now. We'll need to use that anesthetic and maybe even the tranquilizer on her."

"Dino Cavallone, you do _not_ use an anesthetic on Sawada Aki," spat Aki, backing farther away from him, afraid of the vile hatred she felt for the man at this moment. There was nothing more she wanted to do than kick that concerned expression off his face and get far, far away from Namimori.

"Sorry Aki-chan, please talk to me when you feel better," said Dino, an apologetic frown on his face as he leaned into the doghouse to retrieve her. Those were the last words she heard before the anesthetics knocked her out. In her rising level of dread, she had failed to notice that Dino had managed to stick a syringe into the largest vein in her leg.

* * *

"You're lucky she's not awake or you'd get a painful kick in your face right now," joked Dino to Romario who was sterilizing the gash that ran above Aki's knee.

The older man chuckled at the inside joke and wrapped a bandage over the wound. He stood up and said to his boss, "All her wounds have been treated. Shall we take her home now?"

The blond Italian nodded, "I'll stay over to look after her. Romario, you can go back to the hotel."

His subordinate faltered, worry etched into his brows. "But, Boss, what if something happens? You know your motor abilities aren't as up to par without us around." Dino gave him what was supposed to be a reassuring smile and told Romario that if anything happened, he would notify them. Even so, Romario made a mental note to station Dino's men outside Aki's house.

* * *

Having left her front door wide open once again, Dino easily gained entry into Aki's house, the girl knocked out from chemicals on his back. He laughed uneasily, "I'm certainly going to get an earful from her tomorrow when she wakes up." Coincidentally, he used the same futon Yamamoto had slept on when the baseball player had invited himself over.

It was just before dawn when Dino was awoken with hands clasped around his throat. He woke up with a startled yelp to find Aki's clammy hands around his neck. She sat on his chest, with her legs parted on each side of him, crushing the breath from his lungs.

Recalling the many times three years ago when Dino had been roused from his sleep to find Aki babbling or rolling around in his room at night, the young boss realized with dismay that the glassy, marble-like eyes of this girl wouldn't be up for a conversation about puppies and ponies.

"Dino Cavallone," she addressed him monotonously, leaning in closer as if to see him. Her eye-lids were weighed down heavily, as if she'd fall back into her silky, slippery dreams at any moment. Cautiously, Dino chokingly raised a hand to brush the hair from her face.

"Yes, Sawada Aki? What manner of business do you have with me?" He spoke gently, afraid for her safety, afraid that she'd do something that she'd regret.

"Prepare yourself, Dino."

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, I've updated on the last day of June (well...half an hour left till July, haha), but hope you've enjoyed this chapter anyway. If you haven't, feel free to leave me a review with ways to improve! Reviews=motivation. Although I do have to warn you that I still have prep school and summer assignments, so I'll still be busy, but not AS busy. =) and haha, this was the longest chapter so far XDD**

**Thank you for the kind support! =)**


	11. OMAKE: Matsuri Time!

**A/N: Haha, sorry if I brought your hopes up, this isn't an actual chapter...it's an omake! It's actually pretty long...o.o LOL I'm kind of dissapointed not many people reviewed chapter 10...so please, you can review as anonymous/without an account! ^^ I SHALL BE WAITING FOR THEM. LOL XD Here's an omake inspired by the Fourth of July (today) so please enjoy~ Happy 4th of July. Do enjoy this summery interlude. I'd love feedback on this omake as well as my other chapters. It's kinda fluffy. hehe. I can bet the next chapter may be slightly predictable. Dunno yet. And I gave some hints about her kids, if you are extra sneaky, you may know about them. Until then! Please do review~ =) **

**P.S. Sorry for any OOC-ness. Review please~ **

**

* * *

**

**Seven Years Ago**

_Aki: 6 years old_

_Tsuna: 7 years old_

"Look at me, look at me, Tsuna-nii," screamed six-year old Aki excitedly, tugging the sleeve of Tsuna's yukata. "Say I'm cute, say I'm cute!" The little girl pulled a little too hard and knocked her cousin over, giving him a few scrapes across the knee. Naturally, he burst into tears, snot bubbling out of his nose and ruining the outfit Nana had prepared for him.

"Tsuna-nii?" Aki giggled, stretching her arms around Tsuna, giving him a wet kiss on the cheek. "You're silly, Tsuna-nii. Don't cry, Uncle Iemitsu will fix you! Stand up, Tsuna-nii!" She hugged him like a boa constrictor and petted his hair, taking a seat on the dusty ground with him. She listened to the hiccupped sobs of her most admired person and decided to budge a little from her "never apologize" standpoint. Staring at the tops of her sandals, she said in an uncharacteristically timid voice, "Tsuna-nii, I'm sorry."

"Tsuna, you can't make a girl cry," reprimanded Iemitsu, catching up to the two children, holding hands with Nana. Aki had raced off with Tsuna after spotting the festival area, leaving the adults behind.

"B-b-but, I didn't do anything," sniffled Tsuna, wiping his tears and snot on his arm again. "I fell."

"That's right, Uncle Iemitsu! It was my fault," said Aki, leaping to her feet. She studied her feet embarrassedly, "I wanted Tsuna-nii to tell me I looked cute in my yukata."

Iemitsu laughed and lifted both kids onto his shoulders, thumping them heartily on the backs. "So that's it! You both look very adorable, Tsuna, Aki. Do you want to go catch some goldfish? I'll buy you some taiyaki* too, what flavors do you want?"

"Aki wants chocolate!" She writhed on his shoulder, flapping her arms excitedly about the prospect of food. "Aki also wants watermelon! Papa always says, when it's summer, it's definitely watermelon!"

Nana smiled dotingly, looking upwards to the children hanging off her husband, "Now, now Aki-chan, you should be careful with your yukata. Your mommy got it especially for you, isn't that right? Tsu-kun, what do you want to eat? Mama will buy anything you want too."

"I want red bean taiyaki," said Tsuna, his tears already dried, his eyes shining with happiness at riding on his father's shoulder. "I-I'm a big boy, I can walk," he protested weakly, clinging to his father's shirt with a delighted smile.

"Nonsense," boomed Iemitsu cheerfully, "you just hang on there, Tsuna. Let's go get those fish!"

"I want to hold hands with Tsuna-nii," whined Aki suddenly, observing Nana and Iemitsu enviously. "I want me and Tsuna-nii to be like Auntie Nana and Uncle Iemitsu! Put me down!" As an afterthought, she smiled toothily and added, "Please."

"What do you say; do you want to walk with the pretty lady, Tsuna?" His father teased, setting him down. "Don't disappoint her."

"Tsu-kun and Aki-chan look so cute together," chuckled Nana, joining their two chubby hands together. "Tsu-kun, make sure you treat her kindly, ne?"

"Let's go, Tsuna-nii! There are goldfish over there," squealed Aki, pointing at a booth farther down the path. She ran ahead, dragging her cousin with her, despite being smaller and younger than him, she was stubbornly stronger. When they arrived at the goldfish scooping stall, the pair realized that they had ran too far ahead and left behind Tsuna's parents behind. Noticing Tsuna's anxious face, she reassured the seven-year old that his parents would definitely catch up.

"Tsuna-nii, let's go wait over there," said Aki, secretly tickled pink in having time to her precious Tsuna-nii alone. "The lanterns look really pretty."

Nervously, Tsuna tightened his grip around Aki's wrist, feeling a small prick of responsibility now that he was the oldest one in this situation. He guided her to a spot beneath a tree where fairy lights were strung and colorful lanterns glowed softly in the cool, summer air.

"Aki-chan, sit here," said Tsuna, allowing his cousin to sit in his lap, which she happily decided was like being in a safe boat. "You look pretty in your yukata, Aki-chan."

"Tsuna-nii is pretty too!" Absorbed with a firefly, the little girl climbed out of the boy's lap and tried following its zigzag dance in the air. Tsuna grabbed her wrist, preventing her from wandering any farther.

"You can't, Aki-chan. We have to wait here for Mama."

"But, it's so shiny," pouted Aki, for the first time, reluctantly taking up Tsuna's hand again. Her mood improved slightly when she blurted out, "Then, since I'm staying here with Tsuna-nii, marry me! I want to marry Tsuna-nii, just like Auntie Nana and Uncle Iemitsu, and Mama and Papa. We'll have a big wedding with lots of fireflies and lanterns! And goldfish!"

"But I don't want to marry Aki-chan," protested Tsuna, his eyes wide as saucers. He tried worming his hand out of hers, "I'm only seven!"

"Ah! Tsu-kun, Aki-chan, over here!" called Nana, waving her arms to attract their attention, "did you two get lost?"

"Marry me!" shouted Aki with more emphasis, her face turning red as she chased Tsuna. Her lips set into a persistent curve, she sang, "Marry me, Tsuna-nii!"

"No waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay," screamed Tsuna in fear, flinging himself behind his mother's legs.

Iemitsu and Nana exchanged amused smiles and calmed the two down with promises of ice-cream with their taiyaki. Aki blew raspberries at Tsuna all night, trying to get him to consent to their marriage. Terrified, the little boy stood close to his mother the whole night, to his parent's great merriment.

**

* * *

**

Twenty Years Later

_Aki: 33 years old_

_Fuuta: 30 years old_

Fuuta was just hanging up his coat after returning from grocery shopping when his phone rang. Strangely enough, it was the land-line. It was odd because he only used his land-line for arranging dates and for telemarketers.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuta-kun," screamed Aki into the phone. "Come over right now! Drop everything, come _right now_." _Click_. The line went dead.

"What was that?" asked Fuuta, dropping the phone back into its cradle, massaging his temples. As he unpacked his groceries from their plastic bags, he felt his personal cellphone buzz in his pants pocket. He flipped the screen open to see fifteen texts from Aki, basically all screaming, "COME HERE. RIGHT. NOW. FUUTA." _What is this, a telegram? _thought Fuuta, slightly worried that it was urgent enough to warrant fifteen texts and a call to his landline. He shrugged his vest back on and was out the door in three minutes (he had to make a bathroom break first).

* * *

"Aki-nee, what's wrong?" Fuuta burst into Aki's home, panting from running all the way from his apartment to her house a few streets over. He was horrified to find a flushed Aki clutching a can of beer. Even more horrified when she shoved a yukata at him and started to undo his tie and unbutton his shirt. Fuuta's face stained red as he pushed his friend awkwardly away and fumbled with his clothes. "A-A-A-Aki-nee! W-w-w-what are you doing? You're _married_ with _children_, are you in your right mind?" Upon further inspection, he noticed that she wasn't terribly drunk…yet.

"Fuuta, I think I'm slightly intoxicated," she said in a dead-pan tone, sitting down, facing the opposite direction. "Put your yukata on. I'm not looking."

"F-fine," muttered Fuuta, slipping his clothes off quickly and sliding on the yukata. "Can you help me with the obi?"

She glided over impatiently, tying his obi with care. Once done, she spun him around satisfactorily. "You look good, Fuuta-kun."

"Whose yukata is this?" It fit Fuuta quite well, so it couldn't have been her husband or son's. "Thank you, Aki-nee."

"It's Tsuna-nii's. He came over a couple times and changed but forgot to bring it home. I keep forgetting to return it to him. Oh well, they smell really good, a lot like Tsuna-nii," she replied, chuckling slightly. Aki pulled her hair into an elegant bun and hooked arms with Fuuta, dragging him out the door and into the crisp, night air.

"Um…where exactly are we going?" asked Fuuta, uncomfortable with their close proximity, but not wanting to hurt her feelings, stayed in that position.

"Where do you think? The matsuri! When it's summer, you definitely have to go to a matsuri, ne?" She waved her other hand cheerily, swinging her purse high. "Chiyo-chan came over earlier and we played some games, but she wasn't very good at them so we ended up just chatting." The woman frowned a bit, recalling their conversation, "She said I was pitifully cute and brought some beer over to cheer me up…even though I don't really need any "cheering up" of any kind."

"What about the kids? This should be more of a family thing, right? Why'd you pick me of all people?" Fuuta dropped his hand into hers, surprised at how small her hand was. Because of her tough demeanor, he always forgot how petite she was.

"Tsk, tsk, so many questions, Fuuta-kun! The kids wanted to attend the matsuri with their friends this year, and naturally they wouldn't want their mom hanging out with them, right? And _he_ just had to have business this whole week, so he's not home yet. I thought he'd make it back by at least _today_, but I guess not."

Fuuta's eyes softened and he squeezed her hand comfortingly, "You must be lonely, Aki-nee, without your family, that is. Kids really grow up fast, haha. They are at that age after all. I don't mean to ask again, but why'd you pick _me_ anyway?"

"I wanted to go eat ice-cream and play games with them. But we've done it every year, so it's alright if they go play with their friends. They're good kids," she smiled fondly. "And of course I'm not lonely! I have you, Fuuta-kun. I'll let you know, I _obviously_ pulled your name out of a hat, haha. Besides, you're single; you didn't have much planned, did you?"

The man nodded, "That's true, I suppose. I was just going to stay home and read a few books."

"See? It's a good thing I brought you out then! Remind me to arrange an omiai for you sometime, I want you to have a wonderful partner too."

He flushed and tried distracting her by pointing out the masks, "Look, Aki-nee, the masks. Why don't you try one on, I'll buy it for you."

Without realizing, they had already walked into the festival area and were standing near the mask stall. Aki picked up a kitsune mask, fingering the soft edges and tried it on. She turned to Fuuta, chuckling lightly, feeling just a tad silly, "How do I look?"

"You look beautiful, Aki-nee," complimented Fuuta, observing the way her eyes peered out from the fox mask playfully. "You always are."

"Haha, with those kinds of sweet words, I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend, Fuuta-kun," laughed Aki, removing the mask carefully and joining hands with him again. "Thank you nonetheless. Do you want to go eat some okonomiyaki? That stall looks like it has some tasty ones."

"That sounds like a good idea. Would you like to see the fireworks afterwards?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You can't go to a matsuri and not watch the fireworks! We're definitely going to watch them, alright?" For a second, Fuuta thought she was having a "Ryohei moment," when she raised her fist and punched the air enthusiastically.

"Okay, okay. But Aki-nee, aren't you actually pining on the inside? I can tell by the way you react, I'm a poor substitute, right?" joked Fuuta, leading her by the elbow to their desired stall.

"Not at all, Fuuta-kun," reassured Aki with a playful waggle of the brows. "It's really fun being here with you! I just can't believe he didn't warn me ahead of time he wouldn't come today. I'm just a little disappointed, but I'm glad you came with me so that I wouldn't miss the matsuri. Thanks again, Fuuuuuuuuta-kun."

Fuuta nudged her toward the food, sensing that if he didn't stick something in her mouth soon, she'd probably ramble on about how she _wasn't_ pining over her husband and how she _loved_ having Fuuta there with her. He felt appreciated and all, but he knew what she was like, especially when she was drunk; she just wouldn't shut up.

* * *

Having found a good spot to see the fireworks near a cluster of trees, Fuuta allowed the drowsy, semi-conscious Aki to lean on his shoulder. As the first fire flowers blossomed, her eyes dropped shut, like two gates falling toward the ground. The man grinned knowingly, concluding it was most likely the effects of the alcohol, guessing that she'd probably try hard to rouse herself in order to see the fireworks. The fireworks flowered in shiny star patterns, a whimsical line of rainbow sparks leaping and crackling. Deep footfalls behind them caused the Fuuta to turn protectively around.

"Thanks for looking after her, Fuuta. It must have been troublesome," chuckled the man who came up behind Fuuta and Aki. "I just made it with a few hours to spare, huh?"

Fuuta's eyes widened in content surprise, "Welcome back! Aki-nee was worried about you not making it on time. Is today a special day?"

Her spouse grinned and nodded, "It's our first date anniversary. We watch the fireworks at the festival every year. My work got kind of complicated this week so I came back a bit later than expected. Do you mind if I sit here?"

"I was actually going to leave," said Fuuta, hastily getting up. The man took his place, wrapping an arm around his napping wife. The third wheel, Fuuta, took a look at the couple and couldn't resist beaming, "I see you two are lovey-dovey as usual. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Thanks again, Fuuta. I'll see you around." Aki's husband gave a friendly wave and saluted to the departing man and withdrew a necklace from his pocket. He fastened it around her neck gently and arranged her in his lap. Wanting to have a bit of fun, he blew into her ear teasingly, "Aki-chan, wake up, or you're going to miss the fireworks this year."

She shifted slightly in her sleep but remained just as unconscious. Trying another tactic, he tickled her collarbone while whispering hotly into her ear, "You'll _really_ regret it if you don't wake up and see the fireworks. You won't be able to see them again if you don't wake up right _now_."

The second time seemed to work a charm, his wife's head jolting up at the possibility of missing the fireworks display. The back of her head slammed into her husband's face, causing him to groan slightly as the pins from her bun struck his nose. She gasped softly and twisted her torso to see whose lap she was occupying, her drunken mind believing that Fuuta had tried to take advantage of her.

Sheepishly, the man gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, wrapping his hands over hers, "I'm home."

"I can see that," she stared, poking his cheek hesitantly. "Welcome home." For the first time, she noticed the jewelry that hung from her neck. She touched it lightly, and looked up questioningly.

"Happy Anniversary," he explained, cupping her cheek gently with his hand. "I made it on time, didn't I?"

She giggled like a high schooler, giddy that he was back, and pressed her lips to his nose and withdrew. "You know it's not the presents that I appreciate, but your company, right? Even though you're late…"

"I heard from Fuuta that you were lonely without me," he kidded, rubbing his other palm along her spine, feeling the past week's frantic schedule melt as he basked in his wife's presence. "Did you enjoy the festival?"

"I did, as a matter of fact," she replied, leaning against his chest, her skin prickling through the soft fabric. "Did you finish your work properly, or do I have to fix things up for you again?"

Unable to hold back any longer, he dropped his face to hers, his hand roaming up the base of her neck as he captured her lips with his. Not missing a beat, she kissed him back, her arms wrapping habitually around his neck, their work completely forgotten.

"EWWW," shrieked a teenage girl behind the couple. The two love birds turned to see their teenage daughter and son standing in front of them; the girl glared while the boy looked embarrassedly away. "Uncle Fuuta told us Dad came back so we came to greet him, but we didn't come over to see you two making out like kids."

The boy piped up shyly, "Welcome home, Dad. I got some cool prizes over by the game sections; do you want one of them as an anniversary present?"

His sister shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. She joked, "Not only do you guys kiss like that in public, but you're the only people I know who celebrate their first date anniversary. You're lucky I love you or I'd be embarrassed to be associated with you two."

Aki beamed happily, the jigsaw was complete, and her family was together for the fireworks this year as well. "Come here, you two peachy dragons, let's watch the fireworks together!"

* * *

**A/N: The kids may have been OOC...ergh...ah well. I may edit this later. Do leave feedback/advice. Happy 4th of July everyone! ^_^ Please do look forward to more updates. Reviews/feedback are love ^_^ **

**P.S. This omake is so long, I might as well have written another chapter, LOL. So pleaseeeeeee, review! **


	12. Miso Soup

**A/N: Hello! Sorry for not updating this in forever _ It's been a combination of busy+lazy, so I'm really sorry! Actually...I'm supposed to be studying for APs right now but I wanted to at least update this first because who knows the next time I can write. T_T sadly, RL is busy (and not fun!) so the next time I update might be awhile...Honestly, half of this was written like over half a year ago and then the rest of it was written right now. I might have messed up some details so if you spot any, feel free to PM me and inform me. I kept imagining this chapter differently, but it ended up like this...ahaha oh well. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and here it is~ I hope Aki isn't too OOC OTL Enjoy! Please review with your thoughts~ They'll inspire me to work hard on my exams and write! _ =w=b Thanks~ **

* * *

"Pastel-colored plushes are in 100th place…chocolate fondue is in 50th place…the full moon is in 30th place…medieval daggers are in 29th place...battle maps are in 20th place…"

Pinned down, Dino nodded helplessly as the girl droned on, her hands still holding him down, her eyes growing agitated as she counted down the list. His eyes crossed when she suddenly plunged her head downwards and whispered, "Do you know what number 15 is?"

"Long walks on the beach?" he offered, tucking another strand of hair behind her ear.

She frowned at this, hiccupping abruptly, "I-i-i-it's not that. I don't like the beach. I-i-it's something else!"

He shifted slightly, displacing her weight on his chest to the right. Over the past hour he had gotten used to the slight discomfort of her warm weight on him but it required moving occasionally. Dino twirled a strand of her hair around his index finger and pulled her close to whisper into her cheek, "Why don't you tell me then, Aki-chan?"

To his surprise, she flushed and pulled back, "It's you," she blurted, her eyes widening in glassy shock, marbles jolted out of a fountain. Her expression darkened, like an eclipse of the moon, a grimace floating in place. "Say something now or forever hold your peace."

"Aki-chan, come here a bit," he gestured with his hand and then holding her head in place as he murmured into her ear. They were in the right proximity for Dino to catch her as she fell back to sleep. He rustled her hair lightly as she clung to his front shirt sleepily. "Honestly, I don't know what do with you, haha. Alright, alright, we can sleep together for one last time; it's nearly time to wake up anyway."

Dino laid her across the futon, pulling the covers up to her chin as he slid in next to her, his feet stretching far past the bottom edge of the futon. Her expression in sleep was that of a half-smile, a half-frown, as if she wasn't quite sure which one suited her best. He grinned and brushed her hair out of her face and turned away, hoping to catch a couple more hours of shut-eye.

* * *

"Argh." Aki spit out the soggy edge of the blanket, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Why was I dreaming about that castle made of chocolate again?" An unfamiliarly familiar scent wrapped around her, clinging to her clothes, and she sniffed tentatively at the sleeve of her shirt. She reddened when she realized that the pillow she had just arisen from smelled like Dino's cologne. Aki slumped downwards again, burying her face into the pillow, hoping that Dino wouldn't see. Where was Dino anyway? She looked up at the door, her face paling to ash at the sight that befell her eyes. She screamed, her voice wavering between horror and disbelief. An intricately decorated knife was plunged into Tsuna's back, a knife that matched the dozen in her purse. A red ring surrounded the area where Tsuna's body was laid out and it was only then that Aki noticed the blood soaking into the futon.

* * *

"Oi Takeshi, when are you going to introduce me to that new friend of yours? You know the one you whose house you spent the night at," asked Tsuyoshi, preparing fish at the counter. "You don't bring your friends over often enough. Tell that Tuna kid to stop by again sometime, it was real lively around when he visited."

"Oh right, she really wants to meet you too Oyaji, ahaha," laughed Yamamoto, gulping down his glass of milk. "I'll ask her when she wants to come over."

His father put down his knife and stared at his son. "Takeshi, you stayed over at a _girl's_ house? Is she your girlfriend? Now, now, don't be shy."

Puzzled, Yamamoto shook his head. "Why would she be my girlfriend? We're just friends."

Sighing, his father rounded the counter and took a counter seat next to Yamamoto. He faced his son with serious eyes. "I know I haven't had a chance to talk to you about this kind of thing but I think now would be a good time. Now, tell me about this girl. Did her parents invite you over? Do you like this young lady? Takeshi, answer honestly."

Yamamoto considered it, mulling over his father's words briefly. "Her parents weren't home so I—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his father grabbed the collar of his shirt fiercely. "Nothing happened right? I won't be a grandpa at such a young age, right?"

"Eh, Oyaji?" Yamamoto laughed, thudding his cup against the counter. "I was just worried that she'd hurt herself in her sleep, so I stayed over." As his father sighed with relief, the boy's cheeks pinkened and admitted happily, "Yeah, I like her."

"That's great Takeshi," boomed his dad, clapping him on the back heartily. "Treat her like a lady, you hear?" He beamed at his son, a nostalgic light in his eyes, "So… is she your Natsumi?"

Startled, Yamamoto stared at his dad. "Natsumi…you mean Mom?"

"Of course that's who I mean! You know, I hit it right off with your Mom the first time we met in high school."

"I thought you said she called the police on you the first time you met."

"She was a tough one," chuckled Tsuyoshi nostalgically, "a real fighter, that one." As if snapping from a reverie, the sushi chef coughed and stood abruptly, reminding his son to bring over his lady friend sometime soon. Yamamoto couldn't help noticing his dad blinking quickly as he retreated to the backroom. The boy stretched and called out to his father to say that he was leaving, snagging a few more packaged onigiri from the top kitchen shelf.

Truthfully, he was a little concerned about her. The baseball played had woken up in the middle of the night to take a midnight snack and as he rummaged through the refrigerator, his thoughts jumped to Aki and the lack of food in her house the last time he had been there. He made up his mind in the morning to her bring her some breakfast or make some sort of edible thing for her. Yamamoto reached her house in a matter of minutes, walking straight to the front door. He rang the doorbell but with no reply, he tried the doorknob, pushing his way in. "Excuse the intrusion," he called, "Aki-chan?"

* * *

_Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it._ Aki chewed her scrambled eggs angrily. _If I eat fast enough, I can get out of here_. She sat at the table alone, glaring at the empty chair across from her. The hair on her neck stood up at the thick atmosphere, her skin chilled as she attempted to recall what had occurred the prior day. She wanted to slam the greasy frying pan on her stove into the left corner of the kitchen, but that would only serve to scrape the walls, not kill the target. Her blood boiled, but she forced herself to chew without choking. The brunette looked up when the door creaked open to reveal Yamamoto, grinning when he saw her stormy look, her eyes burning with restrained fury.

"Good morning Aki-chan! Oh, you already have breakfast," he noted her half-finished plate, taking the empty seat. "I thought you might not have food at your place so…" Despite his usual seemingly obliviousness, the Vongola Rain Guardian was naturally quite perceptive. Even when she was frightened of him earlier, she had never completely ignored his existence like this. He tried waving a hand in front of her eyes, leaning forward to examine her pupils. The middle-schooler smiled satisfactorily when she snapped her neck and turned away from him. What he didn't anticipate was her getting up and walking straight out the front door from which he had just entered.

"Eh? Aki-chan, where are you going?" For the first time, he saw the blood stains on her clothing and the fact that she was still in the same outfit from yesterday, albeit wrinkled and torn. Warning bells appeared in his mind but he let her go, thinking she needed space.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to see you here, Yamamoto," said Dino, suddenly appearing from seemingly nowhere, his arms crossed, leaning against the kitchen wall. "What a morning."

"Ushishi, Mammon, did you see the look on her face when she screamed? It was priceless," giggled Bel, stepping out of the shadow of the refrigerator, balancing a knife on the tip of his finger. "Next time, I call slicing her throat, ushishi, _so much fun_."

"I have to admit that was fun, ehehe," smirked Mammon, floating out behind Bel. "Anyway, pay up Reborn, you've kept me long enough."

"Not just yet Mammon," chided Reborn, leaping out of the cupboards to land on Yamamoto's shoulder. "Your tutelage hasn't even begun yet. Just leave it on Dino's tab."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," grumbled Mammon. "Let's get some breakfast Bel, on you."

"Only if I get to order, ushishi."

"Deal."

Yamamoto laughed at the exchange, "Those two are on good terms as usual, huh?" Turning to the Cavallone boss, the brunette asked if they were already there when he came in because a second ago the house had been only him and Aki.

"It was designed to be another test for Aki from Mammon," explained Dino, rubbing his temples as he took the seat Aki had occupied. "I didn't know about it till Reborn told me this morning, while Aki was still asleep. Mammon created an illusion of Aki's worst nightmare to strain her mental capabilities while Bel would ambush her in the kitchen from behind another illusion. She saw through the illusion though, or rather, she figured out it was an illusion but she was still trapped within it."

"It's Aki-chan after all," grinned Yamamoto, "I'm not surprised."

Reborn tipped his fedora downwards, smirking. "So you already have that much confidence in Aki, Yamamoto? You'll have to help test her then."

"Uh, sure," replied Yamamoto, grinning as usual. "It sounds like a fun game!"

"I wonder how she'll fare in her current mental state," worried Dino, taking out a GPS tracking device. He sighed, "It says that's she currently upstairs. Yamamoto, do you want to go over to Tsuna's house and check to see if she's there? I have to clean up some business first."

"I was on my way to Tsuna's house afterwards anyways," said Yamamoto, one foot already out of the threshold. "I'll see you later, Dino-san. Let me know if you find Aki-chan!"

"Reborn." Dino looked after Yamamoto's shadow with a smile. "You didn't plan this on purpose, did you?"

The infant hitman flashed his infamous smirk, replying darkly, "Who knows?"

* * *

"Oi, Boss! There's a girl kneeling in the middle of the road, what should we do?" Exasperated, the truck driver called out to the owner of Take Sushi, his eyes darting to the clock mounted next to the steering wheel. "I'm on a schedule here!"

"Let me take a look." Yamamoto Tsuyoshi wiped his hands on his smock, coming to examine the problem with his delivery of fish. He shouted at the girl's rigid form, "Miss! Please move out of the way, this man needs to make his delivery."

Aki couldn't move. Even if she wanted to, her legs wouldn't move, to go see for herself how Tsuna was doing. What if he was actually stabbed? What if he _really_ wasn't there? She knew it had just been an illusion, but she couldn't shake the feeling of despair at losing her cousin, it had felt real when she had woken up. It wouldn't dispel until she could feel his soft hair, his living warmth beneath her fingers.

A breath of wind blew through her hair, carrying a divine scent that seemed to set her stomach on fire, making her legs weaker than they were. "I-is that miso soup I smell?" she managed to stammer as she blacked out.

"So that's what it is, the girl's just hungry," laughed Tsuyoshi, hauling her over his shoulder like a slab of tuna, dragging her into the sushi shop. He waved for the driver to continue on with his job. Once inside, he set the girl down on a bench and ladled out some soup, wafting it toward her face. "You can't go wrong with the Yamamoto recipe for miso soup!" As he spoke the words, Aki came around to the warmth of miso-scented steam tickling her nose.

"Ungh, argh, anngh," she groaned, her eyes flipping open. "Something smells really good. As I thought, it's miso soup!" She sniffed happily and turned to Yamamoto's dad, "Is this for me?"

"Go ahead young lady," he chuckled, pushing the bowl firmly into her hands. "Just take your time to eat; the soup is hot after all."

Without hesitation, she had the scalding soup swirling down her throat, coughing as it splashed onto her jacket. "Hot, hot, hot," she gasped, her throat burning, tipping her head backwards, as if searching for cooling rain. Tsuyoshi frowned, taking the bowl from her and setting it onto the counter. "Woah there, what's the rush, missy?"

The heat stung her tongue, despite the mild flavor, bringing tears to the corner of her eyes. To her mortification, the teardrops only grew in size. She desperately wiped away the pioneering droplets with her fingers, rubbing the following against the jacket she had worn yesterday. "The soup's so good it brought tears to my eyes!" she forced a laugh, looking up at her benefactor.

"It's good, isn't it?" The sushi chef watched her carefully, settling down by the counter, where he proceeded to his morning's work of slicing fish. "It's our prized family recipe after all."

Rubbing her eyes embarrassedly with the sleeves of her jacket, the girl asked, "How long has the recipe been in the family?"

Brandishing his knife proudly, he exclaimed "One generation! I'll pass it onto my own son when the time comes."

"Is that still considered a family recipe then?" she asked dubiously, eyeing the knife warily. Unconsciously she tilted backwards, her feet moving as if drawn by a magnet.

"Of course! A family recipe is a family recipe after all. Now see here, it might be better for you to come back in a few years and see how our family recipe has evolved."

"If I can remember such a small town as Namimori," she replied, her words trailing off, her eyes crossing ridiculously from fatigue. "Woah, I didn't know I could do that."

"I used to be able to do that when I was in elementary school but sometime in high school I ran into a tree and it must have rewired some of my nerves," the cook laughed, whisking away her bowl and wiping the counter down.

Aki could only look at him dubiously, the toes of her boots already touching the floorboards. "Erm, if you could excuse me, I best be going."

"Not in those clothes you don't." The words whipped out fast, like a boomerang, startling even the older man. _Natsumi would be proud_, he grinned nostalgically to himself, his memories flashing back to a warm day over a decade ago.

_The Yamamoto household had taken a day out to see the cherry blossoms and to peek into shops for spring sales (well, that had been Natsumi's plan; Tsuyoshi had wanted to go fishing with his toddler son but Natsumi had been against it, arguing that he didn't know how to swim yet). After herding little Takeshi to the ice-cream stand, Tsuyoshi had straightened up to see his wife in a clothing store. He patted his wallet securely in his back pocket with relief; Natsumi sometimes "borrowed" his wallet and returned with an abundance of the randomest things, such as the time she had "gone to the convenience store on the corner for a snack," and returned with seven meter-long rolls of fabric. _

_ "I want that flavor, that flavor over there!" A young Yamamoto tugged on his father's shirt end, pointing his chubby fingers at the picture of a fudge sundae hanging over the vendor. _

_ "The triple-fudge-sundae? Expensive tastes like your mom I see," chuckled the father jokingly. "Well, since you've been a good boy, how about it?" The toddler squealed with delight, jumping up and down against the pavement, his fingers curling excitedly into a mini fist-pump. "Speaking of which, do you think you want to share one with your mom, Takeshi?"_

_ "Sure!" piped the little boy, his feet tapping impatiently already, his fingers itching for the feel of crunchy wafer cone and smooth paper wrapping. While paying for the dessert, the sushi chef snuck another glimpse at his wife through the storefront window. He was surprised to find her pressing a small sundress to her face, as if to absorb its clean, new smell. When she lifted the dress away from her, a shadow of yearning crossed her face. Tsuyoshi had kept silent about the affair but finally broke down later that night, after they had tucked Takeshi in. _

_ "Na-tsu-mi," Tsuyoshi elongated the syllables, like her name was his favorite song. He leaned against the doorway to their bedroom, his figure casting a shadow over the bed where the woman had her face buried in her pillow, girlish breaths escaping as she cried. She looked up briefly, before curling up to her side of the bed, making room for her husband. "Tsu-Tsuyoshiiiiiiii," she wailed, sitting up and clung to his arm, her nightgown pooling around them. "I-I…want…we sho—" she broke off in a bitter laugh mid-tears. "I must seem silly, right? You must be thinking, was I in the right mind marrying this crazy lady?" Her laughter dissolved to sob once again. _

_ He held a steadying hand to the back of her head as his wife sniffled into his shirt, anchoring her to him. "Natsumi, we're still young, we still have time."_

_ "I don't think…I have much time, Tsuyoshi." Her eyes were clear when spoke this to him, no tears, no regrets, only a fierce look of vitality. _

Those eyes, those eyes still haunted him. Rather, they still occupied his mind, even years later, most likely for the rest of his life. He had loved those eyes and the woman behind them. Tsuyoshi's eyes wandered to the portrait of his son he had hidden in a corner of the restaurant. At least he still had Takeshi. At least there was still Takeshi. Takes—

"Um, sir, like I was saying, I really must be going." The girl's voice broke through his time-warped daze. Oh right, yes the girl. A girl…_the girl_, that Natsumi had always wanted. Yes, she was sitting tattered and strange at his sushi counter right now but Tsuyoshi was sure of it. This girl was the girl that Natsumi had always longed for. He couldn't let her get away, as strange as the thought was, not if it was for Natsumi's sake.

"You certainly can't leave the house looking like that young lady," he reprimanded, the weight of his words heavy on his tongue. "W-why don't you come with me and I'll lend you some clothes for now?" The sushi chef tensed, his hand tightening over the hilt of his knife.

Aki looked dubiously around at what was quite obviously an all-male establishment but shrugged. If it was free clothes, so be it. "I don't see why not…I'll have it cleaned for you later. But," she fidgeted uncomfortably, "how do you have female clothing?"

"Ah, you can borrow some of my late wife's clothing. She kept most of her stuff from her high school days so there should be something that fits you." His manner was cheerful now, even buoyant despite the slight pit of dread that formed in his stomach when he thought of rifling through _her_ closet. Too many memories from too long ago. Tsuyoshi led Aki up the stairs, to a room in the back, past all the other rooms. He handed her the keys and told her she could take anything she'd like as long as she was sure to wear it properly. Hurriedly, he rushed back down to the kitchen saying he had to prepare the rest of the sushi. In actually, he couldn't bear it yet to surround himself with all those outfits and remember that they had gone to that park or that she had worn it during their first date and what not. It was unneeded pain and one thing Yamamoto Tsuyoshi was _not_ was masochistic.

It was a torturous five-minute wait for the older man as he sliced the fish gingerly, his hands trembling slightly. If only Natsumi was still around, he was sure she would have seen the same bright vivacity hidden beneath the girl's exterior, as mysterious as her entrance had been.

"Um…should I leave the keys here?" Aki dropped the keys against the counter and walked uncertainly into the main room. She had grabbed the simplest item of clothing as she could, intimidated by the billows of clothing here and there. In the end, she wounded up in a simple blue sundress whose hem hung way past her knees. _Natsumi-san must have been a really tall high-schooler_, Aki couldn't help musing as she stuffed her bloodied clothes in a plastic take-out bag she had snagged from the storage room on her way back down.

"Thank you for all your hospitality…um…I don't think I ever got your name."

"Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, owner of Take Sushi." He extended his hand for a hearty handshake, his eyes noting that she had taken the sundress Natsumi had worn for their high school festival as second-years. It actually suited Aki much more than it ever did Natsumi, although she had pulled it off with her strides of confidence as was her nature.

"Sawada Aki, new kid on the block." After bowing, she grinned. "I'll see you around Yamamoto-san. Thanks for the free food, it was really good! I'll be a taste-tester anytime."

"After the free food, huh," laughed Tsuyoshi, clapping her strongly on the back. "Come by anytime and you can help out if you want free food."

"Sounds like a deal."

"It sure does. Make sure you keep out of trouble, missy."

"Will do, sir." And with that she flounced out of the sushi shop. Only to remember her urgent mission from that morning. Aki froze, her complexion paling again as she tried to regain her breath to steady her building panic. With a determined grimace she announced aloud, "Tsuna-nii, I'm coming. Just wait for me."

* * *

"Tsuna, these sandwiches your mom made are really good," complimented Yamamoto, tearing into the turkey-cheese sandwich with gusto.

"Of course! The Tenth's mother made it, so _of course _it tastes good!" Gokudera scoffed, chewing the crust in annoyed manner, his lips jutted out in a pout. All the Tenth and that stupid baseball idiot could talk about all morning was that stupid girl. There she went, causing trouble for everyone again.

"I really hope Aki-chan is ok though. From what Yamamoto said, it sounds like she was in a pretty bad condition." Tsuna checked his room's clock. They had been sitting around his room thinking of a plan to find Aki for two hours already and yet predictably, they had come up with nothing.

"I don't think it's something you should worry about too much," said Dino, entering the room with Romario behind him, carrying another platter of cookies Nana had made for her son and friends.

"Why's that?" asked Tsuna, shifting on his cushion to face the young Cavallone boss.

The blond grinned and held his fingers up in a countdown. "In 3…2…1…"

There was the sound of crashing porcelain and a muffled shout, followed by the thudding of feet on stairs. "TSUNA-NII, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!" Aki burst into the room with not-so-subtle cookie crumbs across her cheeks. She halted just short of Tsuna's feet and collapsed into him, consequently knocking him over. Nervously, the girl patted him down, as if it ensured his well-being. She sat up, breaking into a grin, "As I thought, you're perfectly fine!"

"Good job Aki," said Reborn, appearing at the window. "How'd you know that dead Tsuna in your room was an illusion? It was created by Mammon, a top illusionist."

Already distracted now that she was sure her cousin was safe (and ignoring his surprised shout at "dead Tsuna"), Aki's attention had wandered to the platter of cookies on the table. Caught mid-cookie, the girl choked slightly. "Huh? It might be cheesy, but I can tell if Tsuna-nii is alive or not. I'd…know." Her eyes narrowed a fraction. "I'd get a feeling. Anyways, the most important thing is that he's safe."

Yamamoto took this chance to butt in, "Aki-chan, are you sure _you're_ ok? You kind of just stormed out this morning," he chuckled nervously, "it surprised me."

"Oh, Takeshi." It was the first time Aki noticed that there were other people besides Tsuna in the room. "Yeah, I'm fine." She spun around suddenly, backing into Tsuna who had just gotten up.

"Ow, Aki what are you doing," yelped Tsuna in surprised as he was flung onto the floor again.

"Dino you idiot," began Aki with a falsely sweet demeanor, "tell me, what were you doing this morning?"

"Aki-chan, I think we need to talk. Let's go outside for a bit." Dino smiled but his words were grave. He reached his hand out to beckon to her, to give her a hand to hold. She didn't take it. But she followed him anyways.

"W-what was that about?" stammered Tsuna, wondering if something was going on between the two. He was also left wondering why Mammon had to have created an illusion of his death...so morbid, Tsuna couldn't help shuddering in fear.

* * *

In the kitchen, the two sat across from each other, a plate of chocolate-chip cookies in the center.

"Aki-chan." He started off calmly.

"Dino?" She glared, her arms crossed in disapproval.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" He smiled softly, his eyes probing hers.

"L-last night…?" She flinched, her mind trying to recall anything from the previous night. Anything at all would do. She started to panic. _What happened last night?_

* * *

**A/N: Look forward to the next chapter (although it might take awhile). I'll be updating my other fanfic _A Thousand Flowers _(nextgen) next so feel free to read that too! Don't forget to review please~ I love reviews *A* -EXAM PWNGING POWER YESHHHH =w=b **


End file.
